Earned wage access (EWA) is the fastest growing employee benefits category, increasingly offered by forward-thinking employers looking to assist in creating a more financially secure workforce. The technology, typically powered by a dedicated fintech that integrates with an employer’s HR tech stack, allows employees to monitor and access their net earned pay as they earn it, instead of just once or twice a month, which is how frequently most employers pay their workers.

While being able to access earned income in between paychecks is helpful to many, as recent estimates suggest approximately 3 in 4 live paycheck to paycheck, it is critical for low and moderate income demographics. These populations have the hardest time making a paycheck last two weeks (or more), and are more likely to resort to dangerous and costly alternatives like payday loans, or regularly overdrafting their bank account and paying overdraft fees.

With a new, progressive administration in power, banks have begun to see the writing on the walls in terms of popular sentiment. Overdraft fees (and payday loans) are increasingly seen as predatory and exploitative. Over the past few years, Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney have sponsored legislation to rein in overdraft fees, but historically this effort has been unsuccessful. Such is the case with payday loans as well. Despite well-intentioned efforts of consumer activists and state legislatures across the nation, payday loans remain an $11 billion industry with more storefronts than McDonald’s.

Some banks have recently sought to modestly revise their overdraft policies to stave off more fundamental change to overdraft practices, and the bottom line is that policy change along these lines is going to continue to be very difficult. Meanwhile, online players are filling the void with cash advances offered to the general public that often carry opaque pricing models, including hidden fees and “voluntary” tips, and do not solve the risk of overdraft.

However, there is a market force that is striking at the heart of overdraft fees and payday loans: the EWA providers. Instead of hundreds of dollars in interest for a payday loan or overdraft fees at $35 per transaction, a worker can access already earned pay for the cost of $3 or less (or even free in certain circumstances under some programs).

And historically, vendors have been adamant that these services are effective at saving people from overdraft fees and payday loans. But the consumer activists have demurred, asking for more proof.

That proof has just arrived. AITE-Novarica, a leading market research firm whose analysts have deep experience in the consumer protection world, recently undertook extensive research of a leading EWA provider to investigate whether EWA in fact displaces payday loans and overdraft fees.

The results are astounding. EWA is a remarkably effective substitute for payday loans and overdraft fees. First, almost half of users reported relying on either payday loans or overdraft fees prior to having access to EWA. For reference, just 5% of the public takes out a payday loan, but almost 20% of these EWA consumers report recently having to take out a payday loan. So the affected population is concentrated in those who need financial assistance the most.

AITE’s research found that a full 4 in 5 people previously reliant on payday loans or overdraft were “cured” of their dangerous (and expensive) bad habit. And even better, an overwhelming majority of the remaining 20% also reported substantial financial benefits, as EWA allowed them to dramatically reduce their usage of these costly products. AITE estimates, for people previously regularly reliant on payday loans or overdraft fees, several hundred dollars a year or more in average expected savings, which is meaningful money in the pockets of low-income, hardworking Americans.

Further, the research shows improved financial management across the board: lower financial stress, better ability to budget and save, and more. And unlike payday loans and overdraft fees, EWA consumers who report using EWA relatively more frequently (for example weekly versus monthly) report even greater savings. This is because if you are regularly paying obscene overdraft fees or payday interest, you may need to access your earned pay more regularly to stay out of trouble, as compared to someone who overdrafts just from time to time during the year.

This research should mark the beginning of a sea change in policy circles regarding on-demand pay. With this news, we now know that EWA is the silent killer we have been waiting for, a supremely effective tool in the fight against payday and overdraft that remains unfinished.