The Financial Wellness Toolkit Your Workforce Actually Uses

Financial wellness benefits are tools and programs that help workers manage, protect, and grow their money. The benefits that see the highest adoption fit directly into your workers' existing financial habits. For many, that means meeting them with benefits in the same place where they receive their pay.

Key takeaways:

• Financial stress follows workers to work. PwC found that 59% of full time employees are stressed about their finances, and one in three say money worries have hurt their productivity on the job.
• A strong financial wellness benefit is rarely a single feature. It is a set of tools that help workers see their spending, set money aside, and get more from what they already earn.
• Adoption is where most programs fall short. Tools built into the apps workers already use see far greater adoption than programs workers have to seek out.
• Branch’s suite of financial wellness benefits now include a high yield savings reserve, giving eligible workers a way to earn a competitive interest rate on the money they set aside.

Why Does Financial Wellness Matter?

Financial stress does not stay home when workers clock in.  It follows them onto the floor and through every shift, showing up as lost focus, missed days, and the kind of quiet turnover you don’t see coming. There is one encouraging part—financial stress is one of the few pressures that an employer can positively impact with just a few changes.

PwC’s 2026 Employee Financial Wellness Survey found that 59% of full-time employees are stressed about their finances, and one in three say that money worries have negatively affected their productivity at work. The survey also found that financially stressed employees tend to be more distracted, less engaged, and more likely to seek another job. The need for greater financial flexibility is just as clear among gig workers: Branch and Stripe’s 2026 Gig Workforce Index found that 89% say faster, more reliable payouts would make them more likely to choose one platform over another, and 84% say financial management tools from their platform would be valuable.

For businesses built on hourly, tipped, and contract labor, those findings land close to home. Replacing a worker costs time and money, and high-turnover industries feel it constantly. A perk that helps ease financial stress can be a practical part of keeping experienced people on the team.

What Belongs in a Financial Wellness Toolkit?

Financial wellness is easier to plan when you map it to the moments that actually shape a worker’s financial life. Most workers need support in a few key areas:

• Access to pay: getting earnings quickly, which matters most when income is unpredictable.
• Spending awareness: seeing where money goes and finding ways to make it stretch.
• Saving: setting money aside for the unexpected, and growing it over time.
• Rewards: getting a little more value from everyday purchases.

One perk usually covers a single area. A toolkit covers several, and that is what gives workers a fuller sense of control over their money. When the pieces live in one place, financial wellness becomes part of a worker’s routine instead of a resource they forget they have.

How Branch Builds Financial Wellness Into the Way Workers Get Paid

Branch provides workforce financial infrastructure, helping businesses and platforms manage the flow of worker payments and the tools that surround them. Because these financial wellness benefits live inside the same app workers use to receive their earnings, there is no separate program to enroll in and no additional work needed for an employer’s team to manage.

Faster access to pay is the foundation—but it's only the starting point. The toolkit layers on the everyday tools that help workers understand, stretch, and grow their earnings, all in the same app they use to get paid. That means a benefit workers actually return to, not one they forget they have. Here's what's inside:

CashFlow: a clear view of earnings and spending

CashFlow gives workers an automated overview of their earnings and expenses, including their top spending categories and average daily spend. For someone whose income changes week to week, that visibility is often the first step toward feeling in control of their money.

Branch Rewards: cash back on everyday spending

Workers earn cash back on everyday purchases at participating retailers, in-store and online. It returns a little more value from the spending workers are already doing.

Savings: an easy way to set money aside, now with High Yield

Saving is hard for everyone. It is harder when your pay varies from week-to-week. Branch’s Savings tools let workers set aside money directly in the Branch App and automate it with recurring contributions on a schedule that fits their life: every day, every week, every two weeks, or every month. For workers without steady paychecks, that flexibility makes building a saving habit more realistic.

A High Yield Savings built for how workers earn

The newest addition to Branch’s Savings tools is a High Yield Savings, built into the Branch App and our custom branded solutions so eligible workers can earn a competitive rate on the money they set aside without leaving the app they already use to get paid.

Many high yield savings options on the market expect a steady monthly direct deposit or a minimum level of spend before a worker can earn the best rate. For a tipped server or 1099 driver, those conditions can put competitive rates out of reach. Branch built this new reserve around the act of saving, not spending.

With Branch High Yield Savings, eligible workers can:

• Earn up to 3.25% APY* by saving. Workers can earn top rate by keeping an average daily balance of $500 or more, with no monthly direct deposit or spending requirements attached.
• Open with no minimum balance and no monthly fees. Every dollar a worker sets aside starts earning.
• Move money quickly between their Branch Wallet and savings, so money stays within reach when something comes up.
• Save with confidence. Funds are FDIC-insured through Branch’s partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, for up to $250,000 per depositor.

For workers, it’s a way to build a cushion in the same place they get paid. For the businesses that offer Branch, it’s one more reason the Branch App becomes a daily financial habit rather than a payday stop.

Financial Wellness That Works Because Workers Actually Use It

A perk or benefit only helps when people use it. Tools built into an app workers already rely on tend to see steadier engagement than programs that ask them to start somewhere new. By bringing spending insights, rewards, and savings into one familiar place, Branch gives hourly and gig workers practical ways to manage their money.

For employers thinking about how to support a workforce with variable income, that combination is worth a closer look.

Explore how Branch’s financial wellness tools fit into the way you already pay your workforce.

‍

3.25% APY applies to accounts with an average daily balance for the month of $500 or more. Accounts below $500 average daily balance earn 1.25% APY. APY is variable and subject to change.

Funds are held at Lead Bank, Member FDIC, and Evolve Bank & Trust, Member FDIC. FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor. Coverage is pass-through and applies to your total deposits across all Lead Bank and/or Evolve Bank & Trust accounts.

Branch is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Evolve Bank & Trust, Member FDIC or Lead Bank, Member FDIC (“Sponsor Banks”), as listed on the back of a user's Branch Card. FDIC insurance only applies for eligible accounts should the Sponsor Bank holding the user's funds fail. The Branch Mastercard Debit Card is issued by the Sponsor Bank pursuant to a license from Mastercard and may be used everywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted.