What Ekko does

Ekko is a Vietnam-based fintech that provides Earned Wage Access (EWA) to hourly and shift-based workers through employer partnerships. The platform enables employees to withdraw earned wages before payday via a mobile app, with average withdrawal times of approximately 15 seconds, no interest, and no hidden fees. Ekko bundles EWA with ILO-certified financial education (six modules covering goal-setting, money management, savings, responsible borrowing, financial services use, and consumer protection) and in-app savings tools, positioning the offering as a holistic "Financial Health Package" rather than a stand-alone wage-advance product.

The product surface consists of three components: an employee-facing mobile app on iOS and Android, an employer HR portal for workforce administration, and an in-person financial-education workshop program delivered at employer sites. The platform integrates with three major Vietnamese HR/payroll systems — Vnresource, BIPO, and FPT IHRP — enabling automated data synchronization and a deployment cycle Ekko states is completable in under five working days. Security is anchored by ISO 27001 certification, TLS 1.2 encryption, OTP authentication, and annual penetration testing. As of end-2025, Ekko had supported more than 100,000 employees across 50 client companies spanning manufacturing, retail, logistics, F&B, agriculture, and industrial-zone tenants.

Ekko operates a hybrid B2B enterprise field-sales model targeting HR directors, CFOs, and CEOs of Vietnamese companies in labor-intensive sectors. Revenue is generated through two streams: an employer-paid SaaS subscription where companies cover employee service fees (reportedly ~50% of revenue), and a usage-based model where employees pay per withdrawal directly. The company is privately held, incorporated in Vietnam as Ekko Vietnam Joint Stock Company, headquartered in Hanoi, and raised a $4.2 million seed round in February 2026 co-led by Impact Square and Fondation Botnar.

Name

Ekko

Legal name

Ekko Vietnam Joint Stock Company

Website

https://ekko.vn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ekko is a Vietnam-based earned wage access (EWA) fintech serving hourly workers at labor-intensive employers, combining instant wage withdrawals, ILO-certified financial education, and savings tools into an employer-paid SaaS Financial Health Package across 50 client companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Wellness Software

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214)

akta.pro primary industry

Earned Wage Access (EWA) & Salary Advances (FSAKAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Instant Payouts & Earned Wage Access (EWA) (FSAMAKAM)

Keywords

• Earned wage access
• Financial wellness platform
• Employee benefits software
• Payroll integration
• Financial literacy training

Headquarters

HQ city

Ho Chi Minh City

HQ country

Vietnam

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS-based Employer Model: Companies opt in to cover the service fees for their employees, allowing workers to access earned pay at no cost. Approximately half of Ekko's revenue comes from this employer-paid SaaS approach, reflecting growing demand from companies investing in workforce stability and well-being.
2. Employee Usage-Based Access: Employees access earned wages through the mobile app, with service fees either covered by their employer (SaaS model) or paid by the employee directly. The platform offers instant withdrawals with no hidden fees.
3. Seed Round (Debt + Equity): Ekko raised a $4.2 million seed round combining debt and equity, co-led by Impact Square and Fondation Botnar, with participation from Sagana and Vietnamese high-net-worth individuals. The funding supports customer acquisition, team expansion, and geographic growth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ekko operates a Vietnamese Earned Wage Access (EWA) platform that enables employees to access wages they have already earned before the scheduled payday, delivered via a mobile app with an average withdrawal time of approximately 15 seconds. The platform is sold to enterprise employers as a Financial Health Package that combines the wage-access app, an employer HR Portal with payroll integrations, and an ILO-certified Financial Education Programme covering six financial literacy modules. Ekko also offers an employer-paid SaaS model in which companies cover the service fees so employees can access earned wages with no interest, no hidden fees, and no debt recovery.

Product overview

Ekko is an earned wage access (EWA) platform for Vietnamese workforces offering a unified Financial Health Package. The platform consists of three core pillars: Financial Education (ILO-certified workshops and in-app courses), Liquidity (earned wage access via the Ekko App), and Savings (goal-setting and tracking tools). The offering includes a mobile app for employees, an HR Portal for employers, and a SaaS-based employer model where companies cover service fees. The platform integrates with HR systems like Vnresource, BIPO, and FPT IHRP.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ekko Financial Health Package Comprehensive B2B offering for Vietnamese employers that bundles earned wage access, ILO-certified financial education workshops, and HR/payroll tooling into a single employee financial wellness benefit, including an optional SaaS model in which the employer covers employee service fees.
• Ekko App (Employee Mobile App) Mobile application for iOS and Android that allows employees of partner employers to view wages earned in real time, withdraw earned wages on demand (average payout in approximately 15 seconds), set savings goals, track spending, and complete gamified financial education courses.
• Ekko HR Portal Web-based employer dashboard that enables HR and payroll administrators to manage employee onboarding for earned wage access, monitor program usage and analytics, and connect the platform to the company's HR system (Vnresource, BIPO, or FPT IHRP) for automated payroll data synchronization.
• Ekko Financial Education Programme ILO ITC-certified financial literacy programme delivered via on-site workshops by Ekko's ILO-certified trainer and through gamified in-app courses, covering six core modules: Setting Financial Goals, Managing Money Day-to-Day, Saving for the Future, Borrowing Responsibly, Using Financial Services, and Protecting Your Finances; over 220 hours of workshops and 30,000+ course completions have been delivered.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10-15% reduction in employee turnover within first year of implementation
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Labour Organization (ILO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The ILO collaborated on an independent impact study (with 60 Decibels and Gates Foundation) surveying 270+ Ekko users. The ILO's Global Centre on Digital Wages for Decent Work provided research methodology and validation. Ekko's financial education content is built on ILO ITC's globally recognized methodology, and Ekko's Chief Business Development Director became Vietnam's first ILO-certified national trainer on financial education.
• 60 DecibelscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Impact measurement organization that conducted independent user research surveying 270+ Ekko workers across 10+ companies over 16 weeks. The resulting 2024 EWA Impact Report provides data-driven proof of Ekko's outcomes (63% quality of life improvement, 87% reliance rate, 64% emergency handling improvement).
• International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ITC-ILO certified Ekko's financial education curriculum and trainer program. Ekko's Chief Business Development Director (Nguyen Son Tra) became Vietnam's first ILO-certified national trainer on financial education. Ekko is the first and only ILO-certified financial education provider in Vietnam.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PayActiv: US-based EWA and earned-wage financial wellness platform serving large enterprise employers via payroll integration. Mature comparable for Ekko's employer-paid SaaS trajectory and HRIS integration approach.
• ZayZoon: North American EWA platform integrating with payroll and HRIS for SMB and enterprise employers. Closest pure-play EWA comparable by product architecture and employer-paid SaaS pricing model.
• Refyne: India-based earned wage access provider integrating with employer HRIS systems for instant salary advances. Highly comparable product model, employer B2B motion, and emerging-market worker target.
• Kredito: Indonesian EWA and payroll-linked credit platform targeting similar blue-collar workforce segments. Direct comparable in product scope and Southeast Asian factory-worker customer base.
• Wagely: Indonesia-headquartered earned wage access platform serving factory workers across Southeast Asia. Closest direct competitor to Ekko by geography, customer persona (manufacturing workers), and B2B SaaS employer model.
• EarlySalary: India-based EWA and salary-advance fintech serving salaried employees through employer partnerships. Comparable employer-paid wage-access model and financial-wellness positioning for emerging-market workers.
• Even: US earned-wage access app combining instant pay with budgeting and savings tools for hourly workers. Closest product analog to Ekko's combined EWA-plus-financial-planning offering.

Broad incumbents

• DailyPay: Largest US EWA provider, now part of Altura, serving enterprise employers with payroll-integrated wage access. Represents the scaled incumbent Ekko's model could evolve toward in SEA.
• MoMo: Vietnam's dominant consumer e-wallet with broad payroll and disbursement capabilities. Key incumbent watchpoint for Ekko as MoMo could bundle EWA into its existing employer and payroll integrations.

Others

• FintechOS: Not a direct competitor, but adjacent: enterprise fintech infrastructure provider enabling embedded finance and BaaS products. Relevant as a potential platform/infrastructure partner or exit-comp for Ekko's embedded EWA roadmap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ekkoewa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ekko