Running out of money before the next salary cycle is a familiar struggle for many Nigerians. Into this growing sector comes DailyPay, a new platform betting on a daily-payment system that puts workers firmly in control of their earnings and pushes the industry toward a more employee-centred model.
DailyPay’s origins are rooted in personal experience. After facing a health challenge he could not immediately treat because his salary had run out before month-end, founder Temidayo Dauda set out to build a solution that would prevent others from being caught in the same situation.
That idea eventually became DailyPay, a platform that breaks from traditional EWA structures by offering users access to their accumulated daily wages, rather than depending on employer-driven restrictions.
“DailyPay is a financial services platform that provides on-demand access to earned wages. It empowers salary earners to withdraw their accumulated daily income at any time before payday, improving liquidity, reducing financial stress, and promoting financial well-being,” according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.
What You Should Know
At first glance, DailyPay sounds similar to other EWA platforms. But its execution is unusual, it pays employees every workday at 5 p.m..
For instance, someone earning ₦1 million monthly receives a daily credit alert of ₦47,619, a steady drip of income designed to smooth cashflow and reduce month-end pressure.
While the idea of daily payouts isn’t entirely new, DailyPay’s real differentiator lies in its business model. Unlike EWA providers such as PaidHR and SeamlessHR that operate through employers (B2B), DailyPay is built directly for employees, giving them full control over how and when they access their wages.
In more traditional setups, employers determine the percentage of salary available for early withdrawal. DailyPay reverses this dynamic.
How it Works
DailyPay’s employee-first model increases exposure to risk, so the company has built a multilayered verification process.
Step 1: KYC and salary history review
The startup uses tools like Mono to verify the user’s identity, employer, and salary patterns.
Step 2: Employer confirmation
A mandate is sent to the hiring manager to confirm employment status and salary details, and to notify them that the worker has authorised a switch of salary payments to DailyPay.
Step 3: Salary account migration
Once approved, the worker’s salary is paid into DailyPay’s account, and daily payouts begin.
Dauda describes this system as a form of “three-factor authentication” that both protects the company and helps it build early relationships with employers, even while maintaining an employee-first orientation.
Understanding the Business Model
According to Dauda, liquidity currently comes from angel investors, who receive a share of the revenue generated through transaction fees charged when users withdraw their daily earnings.
Dauda says the fee structure is dynamic:
- Charges depend on how much the employee withdraws
- And when they choose to withdraw
These fees are calculated using AI, and Dauda hints at a larger role for artificial intelligence in the company’s future operations, not surprising given his parallel venture, OrditAI, focused on agentic AI systems.
He also previously founded Swipe, a fintech product, further highlighting his background as a serial entrepreneur.
A High-Risk Model
Traditional EWA providers reduce risk by integrating deeply with employer payroll systems, giving them real-time visibility on employment changes. DailyPay does not have that built-in advantage.
This raises a significant question: What happens if a worker loses their job mid-month, after receiving weeks of daily payouts?
Dauda acknowledges the challenge:
- If an employee stops working
- And DailyPay isn’t informed
- The startup may continue paying them
- Leaving DailyPay with a loss equivalent to an unsecured loan
This is why Dauda emphasises the need for close relationships with employers and prompt updates on employee status. But as the platform scales, timely communication from hundreds of employers will become increasingly difficult.
And because current liquidity comes from angel investors, any losses due to misinformation or fraud could have material consequences.
What This Means
With only 2% of the population earning more than ₦200,000 monthly, and a recent report showing that the number of people earning up to ₦500,000 dropped by 57% between 2023 and 2024, salary pressure has become a national condition, not an exception.
Against this backdrop, earned wage access (EWA) has grown into one of Nigeria’s most promising fintech verticals. Startups such as PaidHR, Cadana, Earnipay, and InCash already offer solutions that give workers early access to a portion of their wages before payday.
For Dauda, Nigerian employees are overdue for tools that prioritise them, not their employers. The real test will be whether DailyPay can manage risk at scale while competing against incumbents with structurally safer business models.
If DailyPay succeeds, analysts say it could reshape how Nigerians interact with their salaries. If it falters, it may validate why most EWA startups avoid an employee-only path.
Talking Points
DailyPay’s shift toward an employee-centred earned-wage model introduces a refreshing angle in Nigeria’s growing EWA landscape, particularly at a time when many salary earners face liquidity gaps long before payday.
The platform’s decision to pay workers their accumulated income daily rather than only on demand offers an interesting reimagination of salary access, giving employees clearer visibility into their earnings and more control over their cash flow.
At Techparley, we recognise that this kind of user-first design can help reduce the financial stress associated with irregular or insufficient cash reserves, especially for workers who rely heavily on monthly salaries for essential expenses.
As DailyPay evolves, there is an opportunity to deepen its offering through partnerships with employers, fintechs, and digital banks. These relationships could strengthen verification processes, improve risk management, and expand access to workers across formal and semi-formal sectors.
If executed well, DailyPay could influence how earned wage access products are designed in Nigeria, nudging the sector toward more flexible, worker-centred financial services.
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