Employees access wages they have already earned before payday. For the bank: payroll client retention and new fee income with no credit risk.
Why now
Regulatory change is reshuffling payroll banking. The bank that offers EWA first keeps its clients.
The regulator is preparing to let employees route salaries to banks of their choice. This creates payroll client churn risk for banks.
By presidential decree, due September 1, 2026: infrastructure for integrations and new fintech products.
EWA in Uzbekistan is at the starting line. The leadership window is time-limited.
Value for the bank
The EWA benefit ties employees to the bank ahead of payroll mobility reform.
A share of the fee on every transaction, with zero acquisition cost.
Employers join the bank to offer EWA to their staff.
Funds stay under bank control, only earned wages are advanced, repayment is automatic.
Demand
Wages are earned but locked until month end. The market already monetizes this gap — through debt.
UZS in microfinance services in Q1 2026, +17% YoY
microloan borrowers, +37% YoY
call rising household debt a financial stability risk
Solution
The employee requests part of their already-earned wages in the app.
The bank pays the funds to the card from its own account, within banking infrastructure.
On payday the employer withholds the amount and returns it to the bank.
Money flow
The key compliance point. Funds always remain within the bank's perimeter — KunPay only initiates operations.
The bank disburses funds from its own accounts under its own license. KunPay initiates operations via API and never touches the money.
Product
Salary and days worked, minus the mid-month advance already received, with a conservative 50% buffer. Bonuses are excluded.
The fee is fixed and shown before confirmation: employees see in advance exactly what lands on the card and what is deducted on payday.
See it live: kunpay.netlify.app →
Architecture
the licensed party
technology partner
Legally, KunPay is the bank's technology partner. Funds never pass through us — the bank disburses money under its own license.
Economics
The fee covers funding costs (the bank provides funds at cost) and operating expenses. The remaining net margin is shared between the bank and KunPay. The fee level is configured in partnership with the bank.
Legal clarity
The detailed contract structure is finalized together with the bank's legal team.
Market proven
EWA already works in markets close to ours. Russia and Kazakhstan resemble Uzbekistan in labor law and banking practice — and here the niche is still open.
Kazakhstan
220,000+ users, 300+ companies (Magnum, Wolt, Zammler). Raised $1.75M.
Russia
Russia's first EWA (2019): 100,000+ employees, "Salary Every Day" with Alfa-Bank. Russian market est. ~₽50B/year.
United Kingdom
$228M raised, 4M users, 2,000 brands (Bupa, Hilton, NHS).
USA
$1.75B valuation, ~$25B in annual payouts. Partners: Target, Kroger, Hilton.
Team
Acting CTO of payment organization Raqamli Biznes Agregator, responsible for B2B bank integrations with CIPS and Alipay. 4+ years in fintech engineering and 2+ years leading an engineering team.
Senior engineer at Humo; expertise in Uzbekistan's payment infrastructure.
Engineer at Microsoft (HPC & AI); scaling and architecture.
Startup Garage resident.
FAQ