About half of U.S. workers received an unexpected financial expense each month for 12 months overlapping most of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many resorting to bouncing checks or payday loans to cover the costs.

Almost three-quarters (73.8%) reported that their largest unexpected bill during that period was $400 or more, and 19% stated that it was $800 or more, based on data from the earned wage access provider Immediate.

“Probably what was even more surprising was how some people paid off that unplanned bill,” said Matt Pierce, founder and CEO of Immediate. “Twenty percent of people intentionally wrote a bad check [overdrafted] because they didn’t have the money and another 25% took out a payday loan. This shows that American workers, who were already struggling before the crisis, got hit pretty hard financially by the pandemic.”

Read more in the original article on PaymentsSource: https://www.paymentssource.com/news/u-s-workers-hit-hard-by-expenses-during-covid-19

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