Global Fintech Series Interview with Tate Hackert, President and Co-founder of ZayZoon

Tate Hackert, President and Co-founder of ZayZoon chats about the nuances surrounding earned wage access in this fintech interview:

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Hi Tate, take us through your fintech journey so far and tell us more about your role at ZayZoon?

My journey into fintech began with the inception and creation of ZayZoon in 2013. It started as a teenager when I worked as a fisherman off the west coast of Canada. After a season of making good money, I decided to advertise personal loans on Craigslist as a unique way to “invest” my earnings. It was eye-opening to me the number of people who were struggling with cash flow issues and turning to Craigslist to find a solution. I quickly learned that there were very limited solutions for them, and most, like payday loans, were predatory and offered little real help. To address the growing number of employees struggling to make ends meet between paydays, I had the vision for ZayZoon – a service that gives employees access to their earned wages ahead of payday. To turn this idea into reality, I joined forces with Darcy Tuer, CEO, and Jamie Ha, CFO. Now, I work as President and Co-Founder for ZayZoon, helping the company work toward our mission of saving 10 million employees 10 billion dollars.

We’d love to hear about ZayZoon and how the platform has evolved over the years?

ZayZoon invented Earned Wage Access more than a decade ago and has since become the leader in Earned Wage Access solutions for small and medium-sized businesses working to improve the financial health of all employees through earned wage access (EWA). Our mission started in the United States, where we introduced EWA to tens of thousands of businesses and millions of Americans. Over the last decade, we’ve had a relentless focus on helping employees who are navigating economic difficulties bringing us closer to our goal to save 10 million employees 10 billion dollars. Earlier this year, we decided to expand our mission and bring our services home to Canada, aiming to save 1 million working Canadians 1 billion dollars by giving them access to their wages ahead of payday.

ZayZoon gives employees access to a portion of their paycheck before payday through multiple payout options. It’s free for employers and only takes 30 minutes to implement. The platform also offers educational resources and tools to help workers break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and avoid predatory lending and overdraft fees.

Over the years, we’ve really focused on making our technology the simplest on the market for employers to implement and employees to use. We’ve built out more than 250 integrations and partnerships with HCM platforms that allow for quick implementation and activation of a workplace. We’ve also expanded our payout options from instant transfers to employee bank accounts to ZayZoon debit cards, gift or gas cards, and even Venmo.

What about today’s state of fintech and AI most interests you?

The holy grail of fintech for more than a decade has been the pursuit of ultimate contextuality. Surfacing the right thing at the right time.

AI helps make this a reality.

Imagine being able to ask a chatbot, “What did I spend on food this month?” and having an answer that not only tells you how much, but also tells you where you spent most, what restaurants are most prolific in your diet, and then surfaces a discount or an alternative to avoid that expense in the future. What if the offers differed based on your location, time of day, and where you had already eaten that day?

Obviously, this is a simple and perhaps silly example, but at ZayZoon, groceries are one of the main reasons employees choose to take their pay early, and with our merchant cash bonus offering, it might be just the perfect example in the short term.

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How are new-age fintech enhancements enabling better employee cultures due to better salary and financial control?

New fintech innovations are transforming employee cultures by giving employees better control over their finances and helping employees bring their authentic selves to work. Data shows more than half of employees worry about their finances daily or multiple times a day. When 73% of employees are worried about basic necessities, they can’t contribute meaningfully to work. Instead, they’re concerned about making ends meet, covering their next bill, or putting food on the table.

Tools like budgeting apps, on-demand pay, and free financial education, help promote financial inclusivity by addressing the unique needs of employees. They help bridge the financial gaps employees may be facing, whether it is providing support to those who are underbanked or managing irregular incomes, and put employees back in control of their financial health.

Can you talk about some of the most interesting fintech innovations from around the world that have piqued your interest and especially those that are driving better experiences for employees?

One of the most exciting trends I’m seeing in fintech innovations is the rise of personalized experiences and the digitization of employee platforms. HR platforms have access to a wide variety of employee data that can better inform decisions about recruitment, benefits, and the employee experience at large. For example, when business and HR leaders digitize their employee platform, they can gain better access to benefits engagement. Those insights can help businesses gauge which benefits are driving valuable employee impact versus which may have a higher barrier to entry. When employers have data to help understand which benefits resonate with their workforce, they can better invest in solutions that meet their needs and create a better overall employee experience.

How can company heads (HR teams and payroll teams) create better payment and salary structures that allow employees increased financial stability?

Developing intentional financial wellness programs is a great place to start supporting your employees’ financial stability. This can arguably be one of the most impactful strategies as data shows 63% of HR leaders recognize employees struggling financially tend to perform worse at their jobs. However, before investing in any new tools, employers must understand what their employees actually need. This can be determined through survey tools and employee feedback. Conducting internal pay audits can also help identify any internal gaps and ensure organizations have competitive, fair, and standard salary offerings.

At ZayZoon, we’ve used Pave and Mercer to let us know how we stack up against the market. Remember to look at compensation in a total compensation format though – not just cash. All of this data helps an employer better determine if employees would benefit from short or long-term solutions, ranging from Earned Wage Access (EWA) or Emergency Savings Accounts (ESA) to financial education or external professional guidance. Developing an intentional plan to address financial wellness is the best way for employers to ensure their efforts are worthwhile and resonate with employee needs.

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