A local tech company says its instant-pay app can keep millennials from ditching work, and some major restaurant chains are starting to bank on that. The idea behind Vancouver-based Instant Financial’s app is to put cash in the hands of employees on the same day they work. That instant reward encourages employees to opt to flip burgers, clear plates and take orders as scheduled rather than chill at home — or so the theory goes.

A lot of big businesses are buying into the concept of instant pay, with McDonald’s, Outback Steakhouse, Earls, De Dutch and Mr. Mikes among the company’s clients to date.

But a credit counselling expert has concerns the app could discourage long-term financial planning for those who rely on it.

Here’s how the app works: at the end of each workday, an employee at a participating company can elect to take 50 per cent of his or her pay for that day’s work and transfer it to an “Instant account.” The other 50 per cent is paid out at the end of the company’s regular pay period.

Cash in an Instant account can be spent or withdrawn using a debit card, or it can be transferred to a regular bank account.