MoneyLion Debuts Program for Paycheck-to-Paycheck Consumers

MoneyLion has introduced a membership program designed to help consumers earn more from their paychecks.

MoneyLion One, announced Monday (July 20), gives members access to daily cash back, investing and — later this summer — savings, along with personalized financial and identity theft protection tools.

“Currently, more than half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck,” the company said in a news release. “These benefits are designed to reduce financial stress today while accelerating long-term financial health. MoneyLion One makes premium banking tools accessible to everyone through one powerful membership.”

According to the release, membership is free to users who set up at least $500 in monthly direct deposits. Those without direct deposit can access the program’s benefits for $9.99 per month. MoneyLion says this pricing model removes one of the largest obstacles to premium financial services, making “sophisticated financial tools” accessible to a much wider group.

“Our vision for MoneyLion One is to make premium banking tools accessible to everyone through one powerful membership – helping more people build healthier, stress-free financial lives,” said Tim Hong, global head of financial wellness technology at MoneyLion parent company Gen.

“When people make MoneyLion their financial home, they gain access to perks that traditional institutions reserve only for higher income consumers.”

MoneyLion is launching this program at a time when many American consumers are seeing their financial cushions shrink, as recent PYMNTS Intelligence research has shown.

According to “The Inflation Mirage: What Rising Spending Hides About Consumer Demand,” 43% of consumers living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to pay bills say they would be able to cover a $1,200 emergency expense within the space of a week. Among consumers who don’t live paycheck to paycheck, that figure fell to 3%.

The research also found that 68% of financially strained paycheck-to-paycheck consumers reported that their savings would last one month or less after missing work, with 45% saying they had no savings at all.

And 54% of consumers living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to pay bills said essential expenses had risen “a lot,” versus 22% among non-paycheck-to-paycheck consumers.

“The optimistic view is that consumers are adapting rather than giving up. Many are changing how they spend, taking on occasional work or trimming nonessential expenses. Among the most financially strained consumers, 53% reported spending less on dining out, entertainment, travel and other nonessentials over the past year. That compares with 41% of consumers living paycheck to paycheck without issues paying bills.”