Caregivers can now effectively manage and track shared expenses, coordinate schedules, and streamline communication through their web and mobile app. This first-of-its-kind fintech solution, designed to support caregivers in managing their finances and expenses across multiple households, will be available to the general public in the fall of 2023.

Across the U.S., an estimated 38 million people, about 11.5% of the population, are taking care of loved ones in 2023, and this number is only expected to grow. Beyond helping with day-to-day caregiving and activities, providing emotional support, or helping manage a chronic disease or disability, one of the most important roles of a caregiver is financial caregiving. New data from SupportPay found that nearly three in 10 U.S. adults are financial caregivers (28%), whether that is for their children or another family member, and one in five shares this responsibility with other family members and/or friends outside of their immediate household (20%).

“With more than 65,000 parents using our solution and managing over $450M in expenses and payments, we knew our platform could be of assistance to all family members, including the staggering number of caregivers,” said Sheri Atwood, founder and CEO of SupportPay. “From our co-parenting solution, we know that when people share financial responsibilities - whether it’s with an ex, a sibling, or another family member - the process can be much more time-consuming, conflict-ridden, and stressful. While there are a number of caregiver solutions entering the market, none are focused on reducing the stress of managing expenses between multiple caregivers. Our solution is built to solve this pain point by simplifying and streamlining this process.”

Among its key features for managing caregiving expenses, SupportPay’s expansion will include the following:

• Sharing expenses with other family members by easily adding expenses, automatically splitting them among family members, and making and receiving payments directly to your bank account • Organizing, managing, tracking, and paying all caregiving expenses and payments, including food, medical, transportation, etc. with options like receipt upload, recurring expenses, and partial payments• Managing caregiving schedules, defining roles and responsibilities, and sharing information with all family members in a single, user-friendly application• Reviewing, disputing, and resolving financial disagreements without disrupting the payment flow, and family members can dispute individual items and resolve them through SupportPay’s proprietary dispute management process• Communicating with family members via chat, phone calls, or video within the application, controlling when the communication takes place. Easily export the communications as an archive that can be saved or referenced at any time.• Retaining certified records of expense and payment history, disputes, and communications that can be used for tax purposes or legal needs“As a divorced dad of four boys, I first began using SupportPay four years ago to help manage all my children’s expenses - from basic living expenses and unexpected costs, and it was a game-changer, significantly reducing stress and conflict between me and my ex,” said Gabe Vargas, VP of Product Management at SupportPay. “My passion for SupportPay inspired me to join the team in April 2023, and I was excited to participate in the beta testing of our expansion to caregivers as I also share caregiving responsibilities for my mother with my siblings and my aunt. I’m confident that our payment platform will simplify financial caregiving duties for families like mine, making their lives much easier."

The survey of over 1,440 U.S. adults also examined financial caregivers, their responsibilities, and their effects on their personal and professional lives. Key findings include:

• Financial Responsibilities: The most common financial caregiving responsibilities for survey respondents were paying bills on behalf of their care recipient (22%), managing their financial/bank accounts (19%), tracking their finances/expenses (15%), and making financial decisions on their behalf (15%). 39% spent 1-3 hours per week, 36% spent less than an hour per week on financial caregiving, and 20% spent over four hours per week.

• Effects on Personal and Work Life: The top responses for how caretaking makes respondents feel were stressed (13%), anxious (10%), overwhelmed (9%), and frustrated (8%). They also experienced negative effects on their leisure time and hobbies (11%), sleep quality (11%), mental stability (10%), and health and well-being (9%). Work-related challenges included taking paid time off, scheduling conflicts, and using office hours for non-work matters.

• Average Costs: Nearly two in five financial caregivers manage less than $1,000 (36%), over three in ten manage $1,000 - $4,999 (34%), and nearly one in five manage over $5,000 (17%).

• Preferred Involvement Level: While undertaking financial caregiving, 63% wish to actively manage their care recipient’s finances, and 22% want to be kept informed and notified about the process.

SupportPay also extends its personalized employee benefits with the launch of its caregiver platform. 73% of all employees have some type of current caregiving responsibility, and organizations must cater to this growing demographic’s unique needs. Mirroring its co-parenting solution, this platform will be available as a company benefit to enhance the employee experience. SupportPay offers companies an opportunity to extend their family-friendly policies by providing free access to their platform for employees who are caregivers. By implementing SupportPay’s caregiver solution, employers can boost productivity and enhance the financial and mental well-being of their caregiving workforce. SupportPay offers companies invaluable benefits that cater to employees’ life needs, delivering substantial value in return. Their initial offering, focused on co-parents, has already shown an 80% improvement in productivity by automating the stressful, conflict-ridden, and time-consuming processes involved in managing co-parenting expenses.