Regulating Digital Platform Payments: Barriers to Fair Compensation and Policy Implications for Egyptian Microworkers

This paper examines the structural and lived dimensions of financial precarity among Egyptian digital platform workers, focusing on microworkers engaged in globally distributed labor via online platforms. Drawing on survey data (N=948) and focus group discussions, it investigates how payment infrastructures—technological, institutional, and regulatory—shape the inclusion or exclusion of workers from equitable financial participation. The study demonstrates that while platform work creates new income opportunities, workers face persistent frictions in receiving payments. These include inadequate access to international payment gateways, dependence on intermediaries, inconsistent payment timelines, and a lack of redress mechanisms in case of non-payment. These frictions are not marginal but central to workers' experiences, reinforcing their vulnerability and rendering their labor largely invisible to national regulatory frameworks. Through an intersectional analysis, the paper explores how gender and socio-economic status intersect with digital inequalities to exacerbate workers' financial exclusion. Moreover, it reveals how workers attempt to navigate these barriers through informal infrastructures and social networks. Methodologically, the paper combines quantitative analysis of survey data with qualitative insights from structured discussions, allowing a nuanced understanding of both systemic gaps and individual coping strategies. Findings show that more than half of surveyed microworkers had experienced at least one incident of payment delay or refusal, and a significant portion did not know the reason for non-payment—highlighting the opacity of platform governance. The paper calls for a rethinking of financial inclusion policies to account for the realities of digital platform labor in the Global South. It advocates for targeted regulatory action, enhanced worker protections, and the recognition of microwork as legitimate labor deserving of institutional support. In doing so, the study contributes to ongoing debates on platform governance, informal labor rights, and digital justice.