For many Canadians, an unexpected expense between paydays can mean late bill payments, borrowing from family or friends, or resorting to payday loans, with substantial fees and interest charges.
And for employers, it can translate to stressed-out workers seeking cash advances or skipping work to find additional income sources.
ZayZoon was founded to tackle these problems. The company works with employers to enable employees to access the wages they’ve already earned, without waiting for payday. This service, known as Earned Wage Access (EWA), integrates directly with a client's payroll platform, allowing employees to request their accrued wages through an app.
“The fundamental idea was, you’ve done the work, you’ve earned the money, you should be able to get paid,” says Shubh Sidhu, GM of Canada at ZayZoon, based in Calgary.
ZayZoon disburses the funds for a small fee—similar to an ATM fee—and recovers the amount directly from the employee's paycheque thanks to its payroll integration. This process removes the stigma associated with asking for an advance from an employer, family, and friends.
Employees can also choose a no-fee payout in the form of instant gift cards from retailers ZayZoon has partnered with, such as grocery stores and gas stations. Increasingly, some employers are covering the fee to offer Earned Wage Access as a valued employee benefit.
Recruiting and retaining top talent
EWA not only benefits employees but also serves as a powerful tool for businesses. It helps attract and retain talent by reducing absenteeism and turnover and increases the number of job applicants.
“In the U.S., many restaurants display posters and highlight earned wage access in their job postings, showing that getting paid every two weeks is a thing of the past,” Sidhu says. “This significantly boosts the number of applicants.”
Despite the advantages of EWA, Sidhu acknowledges that there are a number of reasons why employers can’t pay workers in real time. Most payroll systems aren't designed for daily cash payments, and managing payroll manually can be time-consuming. Additionally, businesses often face cash flow challenges outside regular payroll cycles.
ZayZoon addresses these issues by integrating with existing technologies, minimizing administrative overhead, and providing the necessary capital to offer daily wage access.
“If their systems aren't built for daily payments, we enhance them. We ensure payroll and HR teams don't get bogged down with extra work—our goal is to simplify, not complicate. And when businesses lack the cash flow for daily payouts, we provide the necessary capital to cover it.”
The fundamental idea was, you’ve done the work, you’ve earned the money, you should be able to get paid.”
Coming back to Canada
Founded by three Canadians and based in Calgary, ZayZoon initially found success in the U.S., where businesses were more receptive to the concept. Launched in 2017, thousands of companies now use ZayZoon, including giants like McDonald’s and Burger King.
ZayZoon is now bringing EWA back to Canadian businesses and employees.
“Canadian employees face similar issues to those in the US, and we're committed to providing a solution here as well,” Sidhu says.
Scotiabank's partnership with ZayZoon is part of the Bank’s broader strategy to deepen client relationships by offering innovative solutions.
“Our clients ask us for advice all the time,” says Mike Suppa, Director and Head, Digital Payment Solutions & Partnerships at Scotiabank. “They want to know how they can make their treasury and cash management operations more efficient and what solutions Scotiabank can offer to help them grow their business.”
The genesis of working with ZayZoon came from trying to make sure Scotiabank could provide great advice to clients who were looking for a solution to help grow their operations by attracting and retaining top talent, Suppa said.
“ZayZoon's approach aligns perfectly with these needs by providing a user-friendly platform that benefits both employers and employees.”
Payment tools for business
“When you're an employer and you have a great team, and you want your employees to be at their best, deploying ZayZoon’s EWA solution helps reduce their financial stress and improves your team’s ability to deliver for your clients,” Suppa adds.
“For me the Scotiabank and ZayZoon partnership is about creating connections, for ZayZoon to modern banking tools via our TranXact platform so they could create a great user experience and for our clients to an innovative and cool new option to help them stand out as employers.”
Suppa says the Bank’s current focus for EWA is introducing the features and benefits to commercial and corporate clients.
“Nobody in Canada really knows about the EWA product category yet or how it can benefit employers and employees, and we want to be able to bring the news of this innovative solution to our clients.”
The partnership is a good example of Scotiabank’s broader strategy of driving deeper relationships with clients.
“To drive those relationships with our clients we have to give them tailored advice and bring them innovative solutions,” Suppa says. “We want to make it easier for clients to bank with us. And innovative partners, like ZayZoon, are helping us deliver more possibilities to our clients.”
