Earlier this week ZayZoon announced it had added $20 million to its coffers as an extension to its Series B round.
The news came just six months after announcing a previous fundraise, surprising even ZayZoon co-founder and CEO Darcy Tuer (pictured above with co-founders Jamie Ha and Tate Hackert).
ZayZoon is an Earned Wage Access (EWA) provider for small and mid-sized businesses. Free for employers and quick to implement, employees can use ZayZoon to get paid whenever, however. The ZayZoon platform also offers educational resources and tools to help workers break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.
And it works. Employees who use ZayZoon report less financial stress and employers who offer ZayZoon have reduced turnover.
Calgary.tech sat down with Tuer to learn more about their mission and their success scaling the business to date.
Tell me more about ZayZoon’s core offering. How do you differ from other EWA providers?
DT: ZayZoon is the financial empowerment platform for small and mid-sized businesses. With ZayZoon, payday finally comes with the push of a button. It’s free for employers and takes only 30 minutes to implement. Employees can use ZayZoon to get paid whenever, however. The platform also offers educational resources and tools to help workers break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. And it works. 89% of employees who use ZayZoon report less financial stress, and employers who offer ZayZoon boast a 29% reduction in turnover.
Our focus on small and mid-sized businesses is what sets us apart in the market. We offer tailored products and support for smaller businesses that strengthen employee retention and recruitment efforts. We also provide one of the widest ranges of flexible and fee-free payout options to help employees manage everyday expenses and allow employees to send wages where they prefer. With ZayZoon, employees can withdraw some or all of their earned wages on an instant gift card with a bonus of up to 20%. They can also access their wages in the form of a gas card with a 5% added bonus, or simply gt paid in minutes to their bank account for a small fee.
This Series B funding extension brings your total funds raised to $67 million. What plans do you have for this major milestone investment?
DT: This new funding will amplify our ability to innovate, refine our product and strengthen our support for small and mid-sized businesses in employee, recruitment, retention and financial betterment. The investment will also allow ZayZoon to add to our internal team and further accelerate our internal growth.
The round was led by Viola Fintech with participation from Intuit Ventures. How does ZayZoon’s work strategically align with these investors?
DT: Our partnership with Viola Fintech and Intuit Ventures underscores and aligns strongly with our mission and values. Intuit Ventures, in particular, invests in startups that focus on powering prosperity for consumers and SMBs. Both investors recognize ZayZoon’s potential to make a meaningful difference in the financial lives of millions and are committed to supporting its journey towards creating a positive impact for consumers and small businesses alike.
Small and mid-sized businesses make up the majority of ZayZoon’s customer base. Why is this market so important to the company?
DT: With a focus on empowering individuals and fostering stronger employer-employee relationships, ZayZoon’s products are tailored to support small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Our mission is to support SMBs in employee recruitment, retention, and financial betterment and this investment will further fuel our ability to do so.
ZayZoon has a mission of saving 10 million employees $10 billion. How will this funding help you achieve this?
DT: This investment will not only help expand our internal team, so we can better serve our customers but also enhance the products we offer small and mid-sized businesses. We want to be a true partner in financial health and workplace engagement for small and mid-size businesses and EWA is just one of the ways we plan to reshape employee financial wellness. With this funding, we’re going to focus on continuing to build out our product to further accelerate our growth and work towards our goal of saving 10 million people 10 billion dollars.
What is ZayZoon’s focus in 2024? Are there any exciting innovations or new platform additions on the horizon?
DT: ZayZoon is in a unique position to expand beyond our core EWA offering and become a financial management platform that empowers employees and helps improve their financial health. While we remain focused on growing our core team, we’re also exploring new products like employee recognition and rewards and different financial services that bring tremendous value to employees and employers.
Leave a Reply