Case Study: Church’s Chicken achieves increased retention and reduced turnover with Instant Financial’s Instant Pay

Addressing Employee Financial Stress

Church’s Chicken, a quick-service restaurant chain with more than 1,500 locations and roughly 23,000 employees, faced widespread employee financial stress driven by two-week pay cycles and limited emergency savings. SVP Karen Viera sought an employee benefit to address payday shortfalls and avoid costly alternatives like payday loans, and identified earned wage access (EWA) as the right approach—selecting Instant Financial’s Instant Pay program to give workers faster access to earned wages.

Instant Financial implemented Instant Pay in 2019, branded by Church’s as “Work Today. Get Paid Tomorrow,” allowing employees to receive half of their earned pay the next day at no charge. Rolled out from a pilot to 165 corporate restaurants in about five months, the program reached 41% employee adoption and contributed to improved retention and lower turnover—even during the pandemic—demonstrating measurable impact on workforce stability.

Church’s Chicken

Karen Viera

SVP Chief People Officer