$23 billion. That’s how much Americans paid in late fees last year.1 When a payment is only a few days behind, late fees for credit cards, utilities, student loans, and rent pile up. And they have proliferated over the last twenty years, hitting consumers living paycheck-to-paycheck the hardest.
In 2024, 37% of U.S. adults – and 67% of adults with children – were charged a late fee on a bill in the past year.2 As inflation continues to rise, working Americans are likely to continue to incur these fees as they struggle to pay their bills on time.3 4
Now more than ever, workers benefit from being able to access their own, already earned wages as they need it, so they can pay bills on time and avoid late fees and other financial penalties. This technology is vital to the 150 million workers who live paycheck-to-paycheck and the roughly 40% of Americans who do not have $400 saved to cover an emergency expense.
Understanding common late fees
Consumers can face tough choices when sitting at the table and deciding which bills to pay when they are short on cash between paychecks. Notably, many bills – particularly large bills – can only be paid with a bank account or check and cannot be financed with a credit card payment, making it even more difficult for cash-strapped workers.
As the table above shows, these late fees can compound quickly. If a person has to delay a credit card payment ($32), is late on a monthly student loan payment ($30), and misses an electricity bill payment ($17), then they already owe $79 in late fees alone. For a minimum-wage worker, that is a whole day of work.
EWA is a critical tool to avoid late fees
Since the 1940s, workers in the United States have traditionally been paid on a biweekly or monthly basis so their employers can more efficiently deduct taxes and remit their payroll taxes. This pay cycle is out of step with the needs of workers who must account for expenses they cannot anticipate, like a higher-than-expected utility bill. These unexpected expenses can lead consumers to delay payment on other important bills due within that pay cycle.
EWA empowers workers with a solution to this short-term liquidity problem by enabling them to access their own, earned wages as bills become due. Payactiv has pioneered a bill pay feature within the app, that allows workers to pay the vast majority of bills with their earned wages and avoid these costly late fees. Payactiv further offers five free options for users to access their earned wages, the most of any EWA provider.19
Surveys of EWA users show that most employ these products so they can pay their bills on time and avoid any late fees.20 EWA provides a responsible and safe alternative to payday loans, credit card debt, and overdrafts that helps workers avoid costly late fees.
1 The Bill Pay Economy, The Hidden Costs of Bill Pay doxoINSIGHTS Report 2024, doxo inc., (2024), https://www.doxo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/doxoINSIGHTS_Hidden_Costs_of_Bill_Pay_2024_FINAL.pdf
2 Elizabeth Renter, 2024 State of Consumer Credit Report, NerdWallet (May 28, 2024), https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/2024-consumer-credit-report.
3 New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report, The Financial Distress Factors Edition, PYMNTS.com, (June 2022)
4 Will Daniel, ‘Turbulence ahead’: Nearly 4 in 10 Americans lack enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense, Fed survey shows, Fortune (May 23, 2023), https://fortune.com/2023/05/23/inflation-economy-consumer-finances-americans-cant-cover-emergency-expense-federal-reserve/.
5 Can You Pay Bills With a Credit Card?, Capital One (Feb. 27, 2025), https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/paying-bills-with-credit-card/.
6 Ann O’Connell, Late Rent Fees, (Apr. 4, 2024), https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/renters-rights-book/chapter3-6.html.
7 Nearly Half of Renter Households Are Cost-Burdened, Proportions Differ by Race, United States Census Bureau (September 12, 2024), https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/renter-households-cost-burdened-race.html
8 Sloan Hammer, What You Need To Know About Late Mortgage Payments, LendingTree (Mar. 31, 2023), https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/late-mortgage-payment/.
9 Sabrina Karl, The Average Mortgage Payment Now Ranges from $1,242 to $7,046. See Where Your City Falls., (Nov. 1, 2024), https://www.investopedia.com/the-average-mortgage-payment-now-ranges-from-1242-to-7046-see-where-your-city-falls-8737885.
10 Dawn Papandrea, How Late on Car Payments Can You Get?, US News and World Report (January 24, 2023) https://money.usnews.com/loans/auto-loans/articles/how-late-on-car-payments-can-you-get
11 Ryan Lane, What Happens If You Miss a Student Loan Payment?, NerdWallet (September 1, 2021), https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/ask-brianna-missed-student-loan-payment.
12 Hanson, Melanie. “Average Student Loan Payment” EducationData.org (March 11, 2025) https://educationdata.org/average-student-loan-payment
13 What Happens If You Pay Electric Bills Late After the Due Date?, Inspire Clean Energy (2025) https://www.inspirecleanenergy.com/blog/clean-energy-101/what-happens-if-you-pay-electric-bills-late
14 Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price, U.S. Energy Information Administration (October 10, 2024), https://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/
15 Make a Payment Arrangement to Pay Your Mobile Bill FAQS, Verizon (2025) https://www.verizon.com/support/promise-to-pay-faqs/
16 Your Bill and What’s Impacting It, T-Mobile USA, Inc. (2025) https://www.t-mobile.com/support/account/whats-impacting-your-bill
17 Brett Holzhauer, Cut your cell phone bill up to 50% with these 4 tips, (Sept. 29, 2021), https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-to-cut-your-cell-phone-bill-costs/.
18 Bev O’Shea, When Can You Be Charged a Late Fee?, Experian (Mar. 20, 2024), https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/when-can-you-be-charged-late-fee/.
19 Pricing, Payactiv, Inc., 2025, https://www.payactiv.com/program-pricing/
20 Lisa Berdie and Riya Patil, Exploring Earned Wage Access as a Liquidity Solution, Financial Health Network, November 2023 https://finhealthnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/EWA-Users-Report-2023.pdf
