ZayZoon, a platform that allows employees to access their paycheck ahead of time, has recently closed $34.5 million in a recent funding. Led by co-founder and CEO Darcy Tuer it caters specifically to small and medium-sized businesses in the hospitality, retail, food service and other industries.
Employees can use it to get paid easily and have access to educational resources and tools to break the wage cycle. The company’s payment options include bank deposits, debit cards, and free payment options such as instant gift cards, gas cards, and more.
ZayZoon’s spending is up more than 400% compared to the same period last year and is proving popular with franchisees and locations across the country, including Dunkin ‘, McDonald’s and Amazon warehouses, as well as large enterprise customers such as LIDS
The story of ZayZoon
At 16, ZayZoon Founder and President Tate Hackert returned from a stint on a commercial fishing rig with extra money in his wallet and a big idea. He noticed that too many people don’t have access to traditional lending products.
Many of them hold down steady jobs but might have fallen on hard times, so they’re forced to rely on predatory lenders that push them deeper into debt. So, Tate decided to lend out his personal capital. At first, he met with borrowers over Craigslist and Kijiji. Sure, it was a crazy idea, but it worked. And ZayZoon was born.
ZayZoon Raised $25.5M funding last year
ZayZoon is a voluntary benefits provider that allows employees across the United States to get paid instantly on-demand. In the past year, the company has secured a series of financing totaling $25.5 million, including $12.5 million in equity financing and $13 million ina new credit facility with ATB Financial.
The round was led by Carpae Investments and Alpenglow Capital, bringing the company’s total funding to $25 million. Existing shareholders including InterGen Capital, Prairie Merchant Corporation, and angel investors Sanders Lee (Hopewell) and Rob Ohlson (Maillot Homes) also participated in the round. While almost all of the company’s funding comes from Canadian investors, more than 3,000 businesses that use ZayZoon to provide faster ways for employees to pay are based in the United States.
ZayZoon raised $34.5 million in Series B funding this year
This year ZayZoon, which began charging employees $5 to get paid faster, raised $34.5 million ina Series B round co-led by Framework and EDC, with ATB Financial also participating in the company’s funding.
“ZayZoon is on a mission to save 10 million employees 10 billion dollars. We will achieve that with a relentless focus on helping employees that are struggling to make ends meet,” Tuer told TechCrunch in an email interview. “At the same time, small- and mid-sized businesses are faced with their own financial challenges while struggling to recruit talent. ZayZoon helps employers recruit and reduce turnover while keeping employees away from predatory loans and unnecessary bank fees.”
