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Payroll · head to head

Branch App vs Hastee

Branch App logo

Branch App

Payroll

Digital wallet and Mastercard debit card bundled with fee-free earned wage access for US workers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hastee logo

Hastee

Payroll

United Kingdom earned wage access, now part of the Zellis group

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Branch App has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Branch App the fee-free promise applies most fully to funds kept in the Branch Wallet; moving money out instantly to an external bank account can carry a fee, which is easy to overlook.; Hastee beyond the free £100 monthly allowance the employee pays 2.5 per cent per withdrawal, so a worker drawing weekly funds the benefit themselves unless the employer opts to subsidise it.
  • They diverge on capability: Branch App covers On-demand pay, Hastee covers Earned wage withdrawals.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Branch App and Hastee actually diverge.

Attributes where Branch App and Hastee differ
AttributeBranch AppHastee
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree for employers, fee-free standard access for workersquote
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Payroll).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Branch App

  • On-demand pay
  • Branch Wallet
  • Branch Card
  • Branch Embedded
  • Cashless tips and mileage tracking
  • Automatic savings

Only in Hastee

  • Earned wage withdrawals
  • Free monthly allowance
  • Payroll and time integration
  • Employer policy controls
  • Financial wellbeing content
  • Employer subsidy option
  • Employer reporting
  • Code of practice alignment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Branch App

  • A healthcare, retail or hospitality employer wanting fee-free earned wage access for shift workersnot Hastee
  • A gig or shift-scheduling platform wanting to embed pay features under its own brand via Branch Embeddednot Hastee
  • An employer wanting cashless tipping and mileage tracking bundled with wage accessnot Hastee
  • A worker who wants a dedicated pay-focused wallet and debit card rather than routing advances to a personal bank accountnot Hastee

Hastee

  • A care provider offering shift workers early access to pay to reduce reliance on high cost creditnot Branch App
  • A hospitality employer using early pay access as a recruitment and retention claimnot Branch App
  • A Zellis or Moorepay payroll customer adding wage access without a separate payroll integration projectnot Branch App
  • An employer replacing ad hoc manual salary advances processed by finance each monthnot Branch App

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Branch App

  • The fee-free promise applies most fully to funds kept in the Branch Wallet; moving money out instantly to an external bank account can carry a fee, which is easy to overlook.
  • Because Branch Embedded lets other platforms white-label the same infrastructure, a worker or employer evaluating a differently branded wage access feature may not realise Branch is the underlying processor, complicating vendor due diligence.
  • As with all earned wage access, frequent draws are a symptom of pay not covering living costs between cycles, which the product does not itself remedy.
  • Coverage is US-only, so it does not serve international or multi-country workforces.
  • Adoption value depends on workers actually using the Branch wallet and card day to day; a worker who only wants advances deposited into an existing bank account gets a comparatively thinner experience than one who adopts the full wallet.

Hastee

  • Beyond the free £100 monthly allowance the employee pays 2.5 per cent per withdrawal, so a worker drawing weekly funds the benefit themselves unless the employer opts to subsidise it.
  • A 2.5 per cent charge on money the employee has already earned is expensive when annualised over frequent small withdrawals, which undercuts the financial wellbeing framing used to sell it internally.
  • Earned wage access is not directly regulated as consumer credit in the UK, so protections rest on a voluntary code of practice rather than FCA rules, and employees have weaker recourse than with a regulated credit product.
  • Zellis acquired Hastee in June 2025, so employers on non Zellis payroll systems face roadmap uncertainty about how long standalone integrations remain a priority.
  • Accrual accuracy depends on payroll and time data quality, so employers with monthly batch payroll or weak attendance capture get conservative limits that disappoint the staff the benefit was sold to.

Pricing, plan by plan

Branch App

Free
  • BranchFree
    • No employer subscription cost
    • Fee-free earned wage access to the Branch Wallet
    • Instant transfer to external accounts may carry a fee

Hastee

On request
  • Hastee for employers$undefined/year
    • Free for the employer to offer in the standard model
    • Employee gets one free withdrawal per month up to £100
    • Further withdrawals charged to the employee at 2.5 per cent of the amount

Which should you pick?

Choose Branch App if

  • You need on-demand pay.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want branch wallet.
Branch App review

Choose Hastee if

  • You need earned wage withdrawals.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want free monthly allowance.
Hastee review

Questions people ask

Is Branch App or Hastee better?
Neither clearly leads. Branch App starts at Free and Hastee at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Branch App or Hastee?
Branch App has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Branch App and On request for Hastee.
Does Branch App or Hastee run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Branch App for free?
Yes. Branch App has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hastee starts at On request.
What is Branch App best used for?
Branch App is most often used for a healthcare, retail or hospitality employer wanting fee-free earned wage access for shift workers, a gig or shift-scheduling platform wanting to embed pay features under its own brand via branch embedded, an employer wanting cashless tipping and mileage tracking bundled with wage access, a worker who wants a dedicated pay-focused wallet and debit card rather than routing advances to a personal bank account. Of those, a healthcare, retail or hospitality employer wanting fee-free earned wage access for shift workers and a gig or shift-scheduling platform wanting to embed pay features under its own brand via branch embedded are not what Hastee is typically brought in for.
What can Branch App do that Hastee cannot?
Branch App covers On-demand pay, Branch Wallet, Branch Card, Branch Embedded. Hastee covers Earned wage withdrawals, Free monthly allowance, Payroll and time integration, Employer policy controls.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Branch App: Is it free for employers?

Yes, the core earned wage access offering is free for employers and standard access is fee-free for workers.

Hastee: Does the employee pay?

Yes. One withdrawal per month up to £100 is free; after that the employee pays 2.5 per cent of the amount withdrawn.

Branch App: What is Branch Embedded?

A white-label version of Branch's wage access and paycard infrastructure that other software platforms can build into their own branded product.

Hastee: Can the employer make it genuinely free for staff?

Yes. Hastee offers employer paid terms where the company absorbs the transaction fee, but this is a negotiated option rather than the default.

Branch App: Does it work outside the US?

No, it is a US-only product.

Hastee: Who owns Hastee now?

Zellis, the UK payroll group that also owns Moorepay and Benefex, acquired Hastee in June 2025.

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