Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: In Committee 4 D cosponsors

SB 137 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 5 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EARNED WAGE ACCESS SERVICES PROVIDERS.

Last action — Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 6 On Its Merits

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced May 13, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 22% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    4 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (4 D).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Earned Wage Access (EWA) is a Fintech product that allows workers to voluntarily access the money they have already earned during a pay-period for work they have already completed, ahead of their scheduled payday. Users primarily access EWA services through a mobile app and are only able to withdraw wages their EWA provider has verified that they have already earned. This verification process, coupled with the fact that EWA transactions are non-recourse and credit-invisible make the product distinct from loans and credit cards. As an innovative financial product with distinct characteristics that do not fit within existing regulations, EWA requires a distinct regulatory framework. Currently, more than 100,000 workers in Delaware have already used Earned Wage Access services, which are mostly unregulated in the state. This bill helps ensure that responsible EWA providers can operate under the supervision of Delaware’s banking regulator and continue to serve users in the state of Delaware. Moreover, this bill codifies a regulatory framework that recognizes the distinct characteristics of EWA products and will keep Delawareans protected from bad actors who might seek to use the “Earned Wage Access” moniker, while instead offering a predatory product. Specifically, this bill protects consumers in Delaware by creating a new Earned Wage Access provider license, issued by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner to companies whose products meet the following criteria, ensuring that: • All users have at least one reasonable no-cost option for each transaction • All fees and gratuities are clearly and transparently represented to users before they confirm their transactions • EWA transactions are credit-invisible, that providers do not check a user’s credit before issuing EWA services, nor do they report to a credit agency if a user cancels their service • EWA providers do not pursue recourse against users including charging interest, late fees, or sending unresolved EWA transactions to collections

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 6 On Its Merits

  2. Introduced and Assigned to Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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4 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 58 not signed on

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (58)

58 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 58 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

finance technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 137 do?
Earned Wage Access (EWA) is a Fintech product that allows workers to voluntarily access the money they have already earned during a pay-period for work they have already completed, ahead of their scheduled payday. Users primarily access EWA services through a mobile app and are only able to withdraw wages their EWA provider has verified that they have already earned. This verification process, coupled with the fact that EWA transactions are non-recourse and credit-invisible make the product distinct from loans and credit cards. As an innovative financial product with distinct characteristics that do not fit within existing regulations, EWA requires a distinct regulatory framework. Currently, more than 100,000 workers in Delaware have already used Earned Wage Access services, which are mostly unregulated in the state. This bill helps ensure that responsible EWA providers can operate under the supervision of Delaware’s banking regulator and continue to serve users in the state of Delaware. Moreover, this bill codifies a regulatory framework that recognizes the distinct characteristics of EWA products and will keep Delawareans protected from bad actors who might seek to use the “Earned Wage Access” moniker, while instead offering a predatory product. Specifically, this bill protects consumers in Delaware by creating a new Earned Wage Access provider license, issued by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner to companies whose products meet the following criteria, ensuring that: • All users have at least one reasonable no-cost option for each transaction • All fees and gratuities are clearly and transparently represented to users before they confirm their transactions • EWA transactions are credit-invisible, that providers do not check a user’s credit before issuing EWA services, nor do they report to a credit agency if a user cancels their service • EWA providers do not pursue recourse against users including charging interest, late fees, or sending unresolved EWA transactions to collections
Who sponsors SB 137?
SB 137 is sponsored by John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), and Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 137?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced May 13, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 137?
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