UK banking apps that allow you to be paid a day early

Fancy receiving your pay packet a little early? Some banking apps allow you to do just that.

Get paid before payday. With banks like Monzo and Revolut, you can access your money a little sooner. Plus Revolut currently offers a £20 sign-up bonus for new customers joining the app.

Banking apps that allow you to be paid early

Revolut Standard

Revolut Standard

9.1 Excellent
Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
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Get a £20 welcome bonus when you spend your first £20 (T&Cs apply).

Revolut's in-app Early Salary feature is available to all UK-based customers who receive their salary into their Revolut account. All customers will automatically be enrolled in the service which means you can receive your salary one business day earlier than usual. If you don't want to use this, you'll need to opt out by contacting Revolut support through the in-app chat service.

Monzo Current Account

Monzo Current Account

9.8 Excellent
Minimum opening balance£0
Account fees£0
Interest (AER)0% AER
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Sign up to Monzo and you can take advantage of its early payday feature. To get started, you need to arrange for your salary to be paid into your Monzo account by Bacs. Your salary will then be sent to you at 4pm one business day early. You don't need to sign anything and you can choose which months you want to receive your salary early. As well as your salary, Monzo can advance any other payments by Bacs, including your student loan.

Representative example: If you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200, you'll be charged interest at 39% EAR variable.

Other services to use to get paid early in the UK

How does it work?

When your employer sends your salary to your bank account, your bank usually holds the funds until your designated payday.

However, if you use a banking app that offers a pay early feature, this typically means that rather than waiting for the funds to clear, the app makes the funds available in your bank account as soon as it’s aware that the money is coming into the system.

Once it’s received this information from your employer, the provider can transfer your salary into your bank account a day early.

What steps do you need to take?

You’ll need to hold a current account with a provider like Monzo and Revolut. You’ll also need to be receiving your salary into this account.

Depending on the app, you can then choose when you want to get paid early, or it might be done automatically. Make sure to check what set up your chosen bank has.

What are the downsides?

The main downside is that you can only choose to be paid one day early – which isn’t likely to be hugely helpful if your car breaks down in the middle of the month.

You’ll also need to have a bank account with the right provider to be able to use the service.

Bottom line

Getting paid a day early can be useful if money is particularly tight one month, but for most people, it’s unlikely to make a huge difference to their overall financial situation.

Where it could be particularly helpful is if you have a lot of bills that go out on your usual payday, in which case being paid a day early could make things a little less stressful. It could also be useful if your normal payday falls on a weekend, as it could allow you to receive your salary on the Friday rather than the following Monday (or even Tuesday if it’s a bank holiday).

Sources

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Rachel Wait is a freelance journalist and has been writing about personal finance for more than a decade, covering everything from insurance to mortgages. She has written for a range of personal finance websites and national newspapers, including The Observer, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Evening Standard. Rachel is a keen baker in her spare time. See full bio

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