Jason Lee : Building a new financial system for the industry of tomorrow

Over the years, we have witnessed almost every service being evolved for the better,from communication to our source of entertainment. In this pace of transformation, payroll is still one of the few systems that have been deprived of change. Jason Lee (Founder of DailyPay) identified the problem in the pay system that was the inspiration of DailyPay—one of the leading on-demand payment platforms today.

In 2015, Jason tried to order a pizza from his favorite pizza chain. He realized that the pizza place did not provide an online delivery service. On researching, he found out that it was due to a payroll issue, which is also impacting all American businesses. Jason closely inspected the whole landscape and observed that the pay system revolves around the employer but completely ignores the needs of the employees. Those employees then seek highly inferior alternatives like payday loans to address the gaps caused by the system’s failure. As a result, their financial health deteriorates which hurts their families, society, and their employers through higher turnover and absenteeism. Some employers believe the only lever to pull when it comes to paying is the rate.

These observations led to the question, “What if we were to rebuild payroll from the ground up, but this time putting the employee at the center of the system. And what if we built a completely outsourced solution so employers could preserve their existing processes?” Jason started DailyPay in 2015, from his basement. The goal was to reimagine the way money moves and thus he built a technology platform capable of powering on-demand pay.

Beyond Ordinary Financial System

DailyPay is a hypergrowth NY-based financial technology company that powers on-demand pay. The mission of the company is to build the next financial system that will rewrite the invisible rules of money. For years, people have faced the repercussions of not having their own money on hand. This is why Jason wanted to ensure that DailyPay provides ubiquitous access, creates reciprocal partnerships, and builds stronger systems.

DailyPay is an industry-leading service that enables the employees to track, access, or save up to 100% of their net earned income any time without having to wait until their designated payday. The platform is accessible 24/7/365 on any device and has a user-friendly interface. “Our secret sauce? A simple but powerful feature we call the Pay Balance, which gives consumers unprecedented control over their earned pay,” asserts Jason. Through Pay Balance, the employee has access to real-time funds, and they can make purchases or save and invest just like any other financial account without any restrictions. Having access to insight and control of their funds has never been possible and it is saving employees hundreds and in many cases thousands of dollars a year. Moreover, DailyPay functions more than just a regular on-demand pay solution, it offers—both the employees and employers—full-service hands-on integration into any payroll system to funding payments to 24-hour customer service.

Currently, DailyPay works with 80% of the Fortune 200 companies that offer on-demand pay, covering a wide spectrum of industries from restaurants to retail to ensure that money is always in the right place at the right time for employers, merchants and employees.

Gold Standard in Industry

Since its inception, the company has stayed true to its mission. Jason and his team have together combined their knowledge with technology to provide a feasible solution for the issue. While most of the competitors are looking to put a band-aid on the issue, the DailyPay team is successfully creating a new financial system with an amalgamation of technology.

The first-of-its-kind technology platform combines a massive, efficient, and intelligent data network, with millions of employees and tens of millions of their time and attendance, payroll, and HR data points. In order to offer secure service, DailyPay built proprietary and routing payments technologies with over six thousand connections with secure endpoints in the banking system, and a unique and proprietary funding model that results in the customer knowing, owning, and accessing his or her Pay Balance. These factors have contributed to making DailyPay’s partner retention, NPS Scores, and referrals continue to lead the market. Amongst the competition, the company stands apart as the gold standard in the industry whose full-service product includes,

Seamless integration into payroll systems
24-hour domestic Customer Service
Industry-leading security
No hidden fees
Financial wellness services
100% accessibility to earned pay 24/7/365
Funding early access transfers

“We see competition as a validation of the marketplace adoption which is still in the early innings,” says Jason.

Initiatives that Sparked Collaboration

The team has been one of the main assets for DailyPay and Jason continually strives to create an inclusive, positive work culture. The employees receive a range of benefits such as equity ownership, free workout classes, meditation, care packages, holiday activities, mental wellness care, and generous PTO.

The repercussions of the pandemic were inescapable. The unprecedented crisis has changed several businesses and DailyPay was no different. Similar to other companies, the team was pushed to remote working without prior notice. The homes were turned into offices and virtual gathering became the new normal. The situation demanded a new approach and Jason was swift in building a virtual work culture that not only helped with work productivity but also considered the well-being of the employees.

DailyPay undertook several initiatives to maintain high engagement levels such as mental and physical health activities available, from meditation sessions to a personal coach. The team participated in country-wide bonding activities like virtual cooking classes and wine tastings. The pandemic crisis was an adjustment for everyone but it also led to some creative engagement moments. Jason adds, “I’m not sure there was a single motivation mantra that worked best but one of our core values is “See the Circle” and we constantly reminded ourselves and each other to stay regularly engaged with the entire DailyPay family.” During this period, DailyPay found new ways to connect and communicate, and collaboration between individuals sparked. These initiatives not only helped the company in driving cross-functional value to its partners and end-users but also to stay connected with each other, amid the crucial time of the pandemic.

The aftermath of the Crisis

The crisis of COVID-19 was a testament for leaders. It was a one-of-its-kind situation with several unexpected challenges down the road. Additionally, forced digitalization and remote working shaped more challenges for the leaders. “Leading a company remotely for the first time in my career with no previous examples to follow is challenging,” admitted Jason. However, the team worked in unison to grow through the challenges and were united by a simple question— how could we each help our employer partners and their employees through this crisis? The unified mission kept Jason and his team in sync and everyone was willing to ‘Pull the Wagon’ and take initiative to ensure that work progressed seamlessly.

Due to the pandemic, companies realized the potential of technology as it revealed the inefficiencies of the current payroll and even broader financial system that was negatively impacting American workers. In order to counter these issues, the demand for DailyPay grew exponentially and it became a household necessity as many were dependent on it to stock up groceries and make ends meet. DailyPay’s digital solution eliminated the extra steps like cashing checks in or delayed mail paychecks.

In 2021, we are gradually returning to normalcy but now employers are facing a new set of problems, which is retaining and recruiting workers. A recent Mercator Advisory Group study found that companies offering DailyPay have as much as 73% less turnover than those without DailyPay. These striking results have caused an influx of interest from businesses from all industries.

Changing Life Dynamics

Jason is anticipating increased participation of companies who adopt an on-demand pay solution and normalcy around the concept of having access to one’s earned pay at any time. He adds, “When DailyPay was first founded, there was only one other player in the market. Now, there’s over 40 and counting.” Being an early player in this market, DailyPay will definitely be leading amongst competitors, and to ensure that the team is looking forward to growing the current platform to incorporate new relations, aside from the employer and employee connection. Moreover, as on-demand pay becomes mainstream there will be numerous regular users utilizing it to pay directly for items via an app or their ways. DailyPay is prepped for the change and ready to accommodate those transactions and facilitate financial fluidity to benefit everyone.

DailyPay has demonstrated the essentiality of on-demand pay and has been the reason behind an incredible awakening across America’s leading employers and changed their financial system. “DailyPay isn’t just a benefit, it is truly changing basic life dynamics in the most incredible way. I take pride in leading that charge,” concludes Jason.

Key Takeaway: “While failing is part of life, we should focus our eyes on success and hitting the goals you set for yourself.”