CALGARY-BASED ZAYZOON CLOSES $15 MILLION ROUND FOR FINANCIAL WELLNESS TOOLS

ZayZoon, a provider of employee financial payroll features, announced it has raised $15 million in a funding round with institutional and private capital investors. Derrick Hunter of Bluesky Equities and Russell Wilson of Prairie Merchant Corporation were the only named investors from the round. The other investors are undisclosed.

“Employees experiencing the benefits of reduced financial stress, employers are seeing direct benefits to their bottom line.”

ZayZoon’s platform gives employees the ability to view the hours they have worked before their next paycheque. The company partners with payroll providers and helps employees get cash before their next paycheque is issued.

This round of financing was largely for equity, but a portion was earmarked for capital warehouse, meaning some will be used to fund requests for its product, Wages On-Demand.

“Our capital providers have chosen to invest in ZayZoon because they see the positive impacts we are making on the financial well-being of employees across North America and the passion we have for building an exceptional business,” said Darcy Tuer, co-founder and CEO of ZayZoon.

Founded in Calgary in 2014, ZayZoon was developed to improve the financial and emotional health of workers, by providing socially responsible financial products. ZayZoon’s flagship product, Wages On-Demand, allows employees more steady access to cash flow by giving them access to their earned wages, to avoid predatory loans, overdraft fees, and late bill payments. The feature is available to over 2 million people in North America.

The company was showcased at Okanagan-based Metabridge X, an event that connects startups with investors at a lakeside retreat. The company was featured alongside Zoom.ai, Kira Talent, and BlockTech Ventures.

With this latest round of financing, the company will continue to develop its financial wellness platform and employee benefits. Co-founder and president of ZayZoon, Tate Hackert, said the company is working on a suite of financial wellness tools including an overdraft predictor, which is in beta, low banking balance notification (also in beta), and a financial health scoring system.

“We’ve now made our Early Wages service available to more than 2 million employees across North America,” said Hackert. “Not only are employees experiencing the benefits of reduced financial stress, employers are seeing direct benefits to their bottom line. ZayZoon’s services enhance employee productivity, provides recruitment differentiation and also can offer businesses additional cost savings by way of increased employee retention.”