Banking platform Dave is increasing its integrations with remote work employers as the coronavirus pandemic keeps consumers home, resulting in a hard-hit gig economy and freelance workforce.
In a recent survey of more than 7,000 Dave users, 21% said they expected their pay to be cut in half and 18% said their pay would be cut entirely as a result of COVID-19. During the last week of March, 6.6 million people applied for unemployment benefits, the U.S. Labor Department reported last week, while The New York Times provided its own estimations that the U.S. jobless rate is hovering at around 13% of the population.
As such, Dave CEO Jason Wilk is “on the hunt” for remote work opportunities for his customers via the “Side Hustle” feature on the app, which connects customers to gig and sharing-economy work, including jobs that can be done from home. Already, Dave has connected with 10 different employers who offer work from home opportunities, compared to only two prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Dave has also waived the referral fee that was charged to the employer partners included in its job postings, Wilk said.
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Launched in 2017, Dave is a personal finance app based on helping customers avoid overdraft fees. The Los Angeles-based startup, backed by Evolve Bank and Trust, has more than 6 million customers. In addition to Side Hustle, Dave offers checking accounts, overdraft protection, payday advances and an automated budgeting tool. The app charges $1 per month to access its services.
As the number of unemployed Americans continues to climb, Dave has seen a 600% increase in in work from home jobs applications. Large urban areas, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, have seen the highest surge in applications for remote work — in fact, L.A. job applications for remote work were 40 times higher between March 15 and 29, than average prior two-week periods.
The cash advances Dave offers its users “are very small because they’re meant for gas, groceries and other everyday essentials, so we’re able to still advance to everyone,” Wilk said, despite the huge surge in application volume.





