SteadyPay is a subscription-based credit provider that aims to support gig economy workers or those with irregular income. It attempts to help workers when their weekly income is lower than usual, such as when they work fewer hours, take time off due to illness or are away on holiday.
SteadyPay securely connects its app to your bank account using open banking technology, and when you earn less than your average weekly income, it offers a “top-up” to your account to make up the difference. For example, if you normally earn £500 but only earn £400 one week, SteadyPay can pay you a “top-up” advance of £100 into your account (you can accept or decline it). You then repay this amount over a series of regular instalments. You can also request top-ups yourself if an unexpected expense crops up.
Unlike a credit card, SteadyPay does not charge interest. Instead, it uses a subscription model, with a £7 weekly subscription fee. You’ll need to have paid your subscription fee for 2 weeks to be eligible for a top-up.
The minimum top-up you’ll receive is £25, and the maximum you can owe at any one time is £1,000. You can continue to get top-ups provided your balance stays below the £1,000 limit.
A SteadyPay subscription costs £7 per week. There’s no interest on any income top-ups you receive, but you do have to pay these back.
If you’re only after the credit-boosting “StepUp” facility and don’t want income top-ups, you can pay a subscription of £7 per month.
The subscription fee is collected from your debit card each Friday after 2pm.
| Product Name | SteadyPay |
|---|---|
| Available Amounts | £25 to £1,000 |
| Representative APR | 91.25% |
| New customer maximum | £1,000 |
| Funding speed | To be eligible for top-ups, you must have paid the subscription for 2 weeks. Upon accepting a top-up offer, SteadyPay will transfer the money to your bank account by the next business day. |
| Default repayment method | Continuous payment authority |
| Additional repayment methods | Online payment |
| Repay early at any point | |
| FCA registration number | 789333 |
You should receive your top-up advance within 2 working days of your payday. It can take up to 24 hours after your normal pay has been deposited in your bank account before the SteadyPay app updates, and then another working day for the top-up amount to be deposited in your account if you accept the top-up offer.
The amount you’re offered is based on your average pay (calculated on 3 monthly paychecks or 4 weekly/fortnightly paychecks). So if your income is more than £25 below the average, SteadyPay might offer to top it up to the average. You can even get multiple top-ups, but your overall credit balance is capped at a £1,000 limit.
While SteadyPay offers a slightly different service than a credit card or personal loan, it still has certain criteria you’ll need to meet to be eligible:
| Minimum age | 18 |
|---|---|
| Applications from self-employed considered | |
| Additional eligibility notes | You must be in employment |
You repay your top-up advances through regular instalments, which are scheduled based on whether you get paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Once you’ve received a top-up advance, SteadyPay automatically takes the scheduled instalments from your bank account. If you can’t make a repayment, you should contact SteadyPay at least 3 days before the instalment is due to be taken from your account.
SteadyPay StepUp is a way to boost your credit score in return for a monthly fee. You pay £7 a month, and SteadyPay treats this subscription payment as a repayment on a credit agreement. Each payment gets reported back to the main 3 UK credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), which should benefit your credit score with each of them.
Portify and LOQBOX offer similar services, which you can compare in our guide to improving your credit score.
If you don’t take any top-ups from SteadyPay, then you paid money for nothing (or maybe just for peace of mind – like an insurance policy you don’t claim on).
If you do, it’ll almost certainly work out cheaper than, say, a payday loan might have, but it might not work out as cheap as a credit card (if you cleared the credit card balance in full every month you used it).
Creative solutions to help people with unpredictable incomes is undoubtedly a good thing, and £7 a week is unlikely to break the bank. But SteadyPay takes some getting your head around, and some might find its competitor Creditspring a clearer prospect. Both offer short-term credit, and both require a bit of planning ahead (needing to be a member for a set period before you can draw on the credit facility).
Similarly, the new StepUp credit-boosting feature may struggle to compete with LOQBOX, which repays your monthly subscriptions to you at the end of an agreed term.
SteadyPay doesn’t seem set to change lives overnight, but credit where credit is due (sorry), it is one of a new wave of fintechs reshaping the borrowing landscape for the better.
| Repay early at any point | |
|---|---|
| Multiple loans allowed at the same time |
SteadyPay has an “excellent” rating of 4.6 on review platform Trustpilot, based on more than 300 reviews (updated July 2023). Many customers were quick to recommend SteadyPay, praising their excellent customer service and quick responses.
You can contact SteadyPay by using the in-app chat service.
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