ABN AMRO and Charly Cares launch pilot for instant payments for gig-workers

In the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands of gig workers - babysitters, taxi drivers, cleaners, on-call-workers and other platform workers - are forced to wait days if not weeks to receive their earnings, while they would have received their money right away if not working for a platform. This is not practical for them and demotivates working via platforms.

This new service is a first-of-its-kind financial service in the Netherlands. It provides gig workers and their platforms with instant access to earnings for services delivered.

It does so by leveraging the ABN AMRO payment technology that allows instant transfer of funds to any bank account. The onboarding process is fast and easy, enabling instant payments. At a later stage, services like automated tax-returns, financing and insurance will be added, making it even more attractive for users.

“If a gig-worker is not paid instantly, they may not be so motivated to do the job”, says Edwin van Bommel, ABN AMRO Chief Innovation Officer. “By eliminating the waiting time for their pay-out, we are removing a possible obstacle for workers to take advantage of the platform economy.”

 Xander Koenen, co-founder of Charly Cares says: “We are excited to be collaborating  with ABN AMRO. A solution to this problem is expected to result in better babysitter satisfaction and increase in productivity’’.