Inside Workday & DailyPay's Strategic Pay Partnership

Workday has named DailyPay as its strategic partner for on-demand pay services in the US and Canada.

This decision formalises an integration that began in 2023 and elevates DailyPay within Workday's partner network, giving it preferential access to Workday's extensive customer base, which includes over 11,000 businesses.

The partnership aims to address challenges in talent management and employee wellbeing.

As businesses contend with competitive labour markets and high turnover costs, which amount to approximately US$1tn annually in the US according to industry data, retention strategies remain an area of critical importance for business and their leaders.

As well as helping to tackle this challenge, the collaboration between the pair also introduces a tool designed to alleviate wage pressure for employees.

This is a persistent challenge where, across many labour markets, a large portion of the workforce faces financial pressure with over half of US workers reportedly living pay check to pay check.

Enhancing employee financial wellness

Under the partnership, the DailyPay platform is integrated with Workday Human Capital Management and Workday Payroll, allowing employees to access wages they have already earned before the traditional pay cycle ends.

This service is particularly relevant for hourly and frontline workers who may need immediate funds for unforeseen expenses.

The system functions through an app that connects to employer's payroll, calculating earned wages in real-time.

Any funds an employee accesses are then automatically deducted from their subsequent pay check, ensuring the process is seamless for employers without requiring changes to existing payroll operations.

Matthew Brandt, Senior Vice President of Global Partners at Workday, positions the service as a key component of a holistic wellbeing strategy.

“The employee experience goes far beyond perks and benefits – it's about supporting employees' total wellbeing – and their financial health is a critical part of that,” he says.

Matthew explains that providing employees with access to their earned wages on their own terms could help remove uncertainty and unnecessary worry.

He adds: “By giving employees access to their earned wages on their own terms, this partnership is helping to remove a major source of stress – and empowering a workforce that's more resilient, engaged and productive.”

Strategic integration for enterprise HR systems

For DailyPay, achieving strategic partner status is a notable commercial development in the expanding earned wage access market.

This designation provides a direct path to Workday's customers, a list that includes over 60% of Fortune 500 companies.

Such enterprises often adopt new benefits cautiously but tend to favour solutions that integrate smoothly with their existing HR technology infrastructure.

This partnership allows Workday to augment its offerings with financial wellness capabilities without needing to develop the technology internally.

The embedded nature of DailyPay's service within the Workday interface is designed to reduce friction points that can hinder the adoption of standalone platforms.

By making the on-demand pay feature a part of the familiar Workday ecosystem, companies may see higher engagement from employees who are often reluctant to use new or unfamiliar third-party applications for sensitive tasks like payroll.

The growing demand for flexible pay solutions

The market for earned wage access has seen rapid growth as labour shortages have compelled employers to seek new ways to differentiate their benefits packages.

Companies that have implemented such programmes report improvements in recruitment metrics and employee satisfaction scores.

Early adopters in sectors like retail, hospitality and manufacturing have noted reduced absenteeism and lower recruitment costs, benefits that are particularly pronounced in industries with high turnover and large populations of hourly workers.

Stacy Greiner, Chief Executive Officer of DailyPay, says of the partnership’s potential: “We are honoured to strengthen our partnership with Workday and become their Strategic Partner for On-Demand Pay,” says Stacy.

She adds: “Our business goes beyond the workplaces we touch – we are reshaping how an entire generation of employers and employees interact. Through this expanded partnership, DailyPay will be able to serve more businesses focused on their employees' financial well-being and reach tens of millions of workers who will benefit from the power to access their money on their time.”

Industry observers expect the partnership to accelerate adoption among mid-market companies that use the Workday platform.