Gigable, the equitable gig economy platform that connects businesses with flexible workers, is partnering with embedded finance specialist Weavr, to enhance its payments and business banking infrastructure to transform how gig workers access earnings and control finances.
The announcement marks a significant advancement in the use of embedded financial technology to boost the gig economy in the UK and Ireland. The partnership aims to reduce the time that gig workers wait to receive their earnings while also allowing them to control their finances in real-time.
John Ryan, CEO and Founder of Gigable, said: “The cost of living crisis is having a significant impact on the residents of both Ireland and the UK, and an increasing number of people are turning to the gig economy as a result of their income no longer covering their expenses. Gigable seeks to be a source of truly flexible work opportunities for gig workers. This partnership supports Gigable’s mission of being a freelancer-first platform.
“Our goal at Gigable is for workers to have complete financial independence, have immediate access to earnings and the ability to control their finances with saving options. This partnership will also offer a new and unique ability for partner merchants to accept payments through Gigable as we strive to advance batching systems, and increase speed and convenience for paying workers.”
This partnership marks a new chapter for Gigable not only as a source of flexible work opportunities for freelance gig workers but also as the preferred app to plan, manage and spend gig earnings, all in the Gigable app. The Gigable platform will allow workers to set up a dedicated account for savings to set a portion of earnings aside.
From a recent survey of a segment of active freelance gig workers on the platform, Gigable found that almost a quarter (23.2%) of Gigable’s workers use gig work as the main generator of income while over 70% use gig work to supplement their income. Nearly three-quarters (73.7%) use gig earnings for essential goods and services and a further 21.2% put gig earnings towards Mortgage and Rent.
When openly asked about how to improve their experience of the gig economy and working with merchants on Gigable, the majority of gig workers want quicker access to earnings and payments.
Alex Mifsud, CEO and co-founder at Weavr, said: “We’re always excited to work with innovators like John and his team at Gigable who are so passionate about creating solutions that seem to think of everything when it comes to serving their customers, and in this case gig workers. That ‘everything’ often includes financial services and we are proud to make this not just possible for Gigable but easy, fast and affordable.
“Businesses like Gigable show the world how much of a game-changer embedded finance can be - how value-creating it is to integrate financial services into the digital applications we depend on to live our lives.
“That latter point perfectly aligns with John’s vision for Gigable, which focuses on supporting the ever-growing community of people working as gig workers. With Weavr, Gigable is able to help gig workers to receive, manage and spend their earnings more effectively. That’s why we’re so excited to support the Gigable team as it provides a much-needed service for this hardworking community.”
Gigable’s network is completely decentralised. Restaurants and gig workers operate separately from the platform and have complete control over which ‘gigs’ they chose to work. Gigable differs from most gig platforms by offering shift work rather than ad hoc jobs based on orders, which allows flexible workers to review their hourly rate in advance to shift. This enables workers to work independently in a more structured way and more freedom to plan their working life and benefit from transparency on pay.
With over 34,000 members, Gigable is the decentralised marketplace that specialises in connecting businesses and gig workers, predominantly in the restaurant and delivery sector, where they can post and accept shifts, communicate, invoice and be paid.