Calgary-based fintech ZayZoon, founded by Tate Hackert, Darcy Tuer, and Jamie Ha, is simplifying payday. Offered as a benefit through employers, employees can use ZayZoon to get paid whenever. The ZayZoon app also offers educational resources and tools to help workers break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, and it works. According to the company, 89% of employees who use ZayZoon report less financial stress, and employers who offer ZayZoon boast a 29% reduction in turnover. ZayZoon has previously raised $65 million to scale up growth, with 6,000 businesses using it in the US.
After successfully launching in the U.S., ZayZoon is proud to announce a new expansion to Canada, aiming to help save one million Canadians one billion dollars. Recent reports show that 54% of Canadians live paycheck-to-paycheck and 27% are behind on monthly payments. ZayZoon’s financial empowerment platform for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), featuring its Earned Wage Access (EWA) product, enters a new market in need of solutions. EWA allows workers to access a portion of their paycheck before payday, addressing immediate cash flow needs when a full paycheck isn’t available. ZayZoon collaborates with employers to provide employees with a low-cost, easily accessible alternative to high-cost products like payday loans and late bill payment penalties.
“When we created ZayZoon, our mission was to improve employee cash flow by giving them a better way to deal with unexpected expenses between paycheques. Existing options to deal with short term cash flow issues are, in a word, awful. For example over two million Canadians use payday loans every year.
ZayZoon provides a fast, efficient, low cost and convenient way for an employee to access their own pay, reducing their financial stress and saving them money. As a Canadian, I’m grateful that we are now able to offer this valuable employee benefit on our home turf.”
— ZayZoon co-founder and President Tate Hackert
By reducing employee financial stress, ZayZoon positively impacts employee retention and shift productivity. Employees with access to ZayZoon on average pick up one extra shift per month, making it easier for employers to manage staffing and customer service. Offering EWA as an employee benefit also positively impacts recruiting as job postings that feature ZayZoon attract twice the number of applicants.
“In a perfect world, every employee would get paid what they’ve earned each day. The reality is that payroll technology and employer cash flow will not allow this to happen,” says Shubh Sidhui, GM of Canada. “By working with ZayZoon to give employees access to their earned wages, employers can improve employee engagement, keep employees longer and save money on recruiting costs. EWA is working to evolve payroll to satisfy the needs of both the employee and the employer.”
As ZayZoon enters the Canadian market, the company will collaborate with some of the top companies in payroll and HCM software to bring this solution to every Canadian employer.
Employers in Canada can now sign up to offer ZayZoon to their employees.
