For many employees, payday is a countdown…and in today’s world, it can sometimes come too late. They need access to the money they have already earned.
That is the problem on-demand pay solves. And it is one of the reasons we hosted a recent webinar with our partners at ZayZoon to walk through how the platform works, what it costs, and what employers should know before turning it on.
Here is a quick recap of what we covered. The full recording is embedded below.
The Problem
Pay cycles and bill cycles do not always line up. When a car repair, medical bill, or unexpected expense hits between paychecks, employees often turn to payday loans with predatory rates. Or they come to HR asking for an advance, which creates more reconciliation work and an awkward conversation neither side wants to have.
Either way, financial stress follows people to work. It affects focus, productivity, and retention.
The Solution
ZayZoon is an earned wage access platform. Employees can take a portion of the pay they have already earned before payday, without going to a lender or coming to you. Xenium clients can turn it on through Prism with no administrative lift.
What Employees Get
- Access to up to 50% of net earnings, capped at $200 per day and $1,000 per pay period
- A $5 advance fee for instant transfer to a bank account, Venmo, or Zelle
- A fee-free gift card option with bonus amounts at retailers like DSW, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Walmart
- A $75 new hire advance is available before the first paycheck, so startup costs do not keep people from showing up.
- Free financial wellness tools, including budgeting, spending insights, and low balance alerts
- Free financial education courses
- A perks marketplace with discounts on prescriptions, insurance, and other essentials
What Employers Get
- An Employer Connect dashboard to track usage and answer paycheck questions quickly
- A rewards and recognition tool that pulls birthdays and anniversaries from Prism, so nothing gets missed
- Public and private shoutouts, with optional digital gift cards
- Announcements and polls for company-wide communication
- A dedicated account manager and ready-to-use rollout materials, including posters, email templates, and signup links
The Cost Structure
This is where ZayZoon stands out.
- No cost to the employer to enable the platform.
- No cost to employees who use the fee-free gift card option.
- A $5 max advance fee is only charged when an employee chooses an instant transfer.
- The only time an employer pays anything is when purchasing digital gift cards through the recognition feature.
FAQs From the Session
A few questions came up worth highlighting.
Is this a payday loan? No. There is no application, no interest, no credit check, and nothing reported to credit bureaus. It is an advance on wages already earned.
What happens if an employee leaves with an outstanding balance? ZayZoon handles repayment directly with the former employee. The balance never falls back on the employer.
How is the advance amount calculated? ZayZoon uses an algorithm based on up to 90 days of earnings history. It works for salaried, full-time, part-time, and variable-hour employees, even when hours are entered manually.
Does this add work for our payroll team? No. The deduction happens between ZayZoon and Xenium on the back end. Payroll runs the same as it always has.
How do we turn it on? Reach out to your Xenium HR Business Partner. It’s just a few clicks in Prism, and we have employee communication tools, portal widgets, and live virtual education sessions ready to go.
Why It Matters
Financial stress is one of the quieter drains on workplace performance. Giving employees a clearer path through it, without adding more to your team’s plate, is a practical way to support your people.
If you want to talk about turning ZayZoon on for your team, reach out to your Xenium HR Business Partner.