The financial relationship between an organisation and its staff is the foundation for everything else – from motivation and satisfaction to productivity and employee branding – so the human factor matters. This is backed up by research. Multiple studies have found that employee financial wellbeing can have significant impacts on engagement and job stress. One study even found a link between financial worries and an increase in preventable workplace accidents.

A simple way to help employees improve their financial wellbeing – and by extension improve organisational outcomes – is to give them access to funds they’ve already earned, effectively letting them choose their own payday on demand. That’s what’s offered by PayNow, a service from employment solutions provider PaySauce supported by Bank of New Zealand (BNZ).

PayNow is accessed through the PaySauce employee mobile app, and it is not a loan. It makes available money from hours already worked (up to 80% of the total, minus any deductions like PAYE, KiwiSaver, and so on). When payday comes around, the employer processes payroll as usual, but any money the employee has already received is deducted to repay any amounts already accessed.

Built by PaySauce in April 2021, PayNow forms part of BNZ’s efforts to disrupt predatory lending in New Zealand. It’s free. There is no interest and no fees for the employee or employer.

“We’re completely dedicated to reducing friction in the workplace for employers and employees. People are accustomed to convenience and freedom as consumers, but payroll still operates on an outdated model,” says PaySauce CEO Asantha Wijeyeratne of the project.

“Often employers find out that their staff are in financial difficulty too late – they've already gone down a dark path with a payday lender. PayNow enables responsible employers to have a conversation with their people and help them early.”

Pictured: Asantha Wijeyeratne, PaySauce, CEO

“Often employers find out that their staff are in financial difficulty too late.”

Putting people first

PayNow is not the only way PaySauce puts people first. As a cloud-based payroll solution that can be accessed on desktop or mobile, PaySauce allows business advisers, accountants and bookkeepers to have the same real-time view of data and operations as their clients, which increases productivity and collaboration.

It also has a partner programme to help accounting businesses with multiple clients on PaySauce. The programme offers access to structured online training programmes, ongoing support, and advice and exclusive benefits, such as discounted payroll for the accounting business itself.

“Our partner programme is all about showing our customers that we’re right there beside them. We’re part of this community. We’ve developed a homegrown New Zealand technology, built and supported by passionate people,” says Wijeyeratne.

The more accounting firms engage with PaySauce, through such things as staff certification and bringing more clients onto the platform, the more the company helps. The programme has tiers that progressively open up access to nominated customer success contact, social media shoutouts, customised co-designed webinars and more.

Just as PayNow is an employee benefit that ultimately helps employers by boosting financial wellbeing, the partner programme is an accounting business benefit that’s designed to make sure more employers have access to payroll that’s compliant, smarter and more efficient.

“As a business we like to make sure that both our technology and our relationships centre the same three things – trust, security and simplicity,” says Wijeyeratne. “In other words, at the heart of PaySauce is an obsession with putting people first.”

Find out more:

To find out more about how PaySauce puts people first and helps take payroll to the next level, or to discover how the partner programme works click here.