Paylab
Paylab is an Australian mobile financial wellness platform offering retail rewards and earned wage access (5% fee) to consumers, distributed through a free B2B employee benefits product integrated with major payroll systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersNorth Sydney, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Paylab does
Paylab is an Australian financial wellness platform operating as Paylab Pty Ltd (ABN 65 092 732 5), headquartered in North Sydney, NSW, and previously known as WageSplitter. The company operates a mobile-first platform available on iOS and Android that combines a retail rewards marketplace (Paylab Rewards, with digital gift cards at 140+ Australian retailers and a Café Choice Gift Card accepted at 25,000+ cafes, bars, and restaurants) with an optional earned wage access product (Paylab Advance / Pay Myself) that lets employees access up to 50% of accrued wages before payday for a fixed 5% service fee, settled in real time via Australia's New Payments Platform and repaid automatically on the next pay cycle. The platform integrates with the major Australian and global payroll and HR systems (Xero, Reckon, MYOB, Deputy, Oracle Netsuite) for automated reconciliation, uses Till Payments as a PCI-DSS certified card-processing gateway, and relies on Illion for bank-data-driven eligibility assessment without storing bank credentials. It is offered to employers as a free B2B employee benefit (Paylab for Businesses) and is also used directly by individual consumers.
The business model blends four revenue streams: a 5% transaction fee on EWA advances, a $5 Advance assessment fee that is rebated as rewards upon repayment, monthly subscription fees for Club (up to $6/month) and Premium (up to $8/month) membership tiers (the latter including monthly prize draw entries worth up to $3,000), and implicit marketplace commissions on gift card sales where retailers fund the discount rates. Card surcharges are cost-recovery only. Go-to-market is hybrid: a product-led consumer funnel via App Store and Google Play download and in-app rewards mechanics, paired with a sales-led B2B motion in which employers are onboarded, integrated with payroll, and used as distribution channels to their workforces. The company is privately held, appears bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional funding, and is led by Founder and Director Anthony Hausler. Partner integrations with RentPay, Alex.Bank, and Novated Lease Australia extend the wallet into rent offset, personal loans, and novated leasing respectively, positioning Paylab as an emerging hub for embedded consumer finance in the Australian market.
Paylab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Paylab
- Legal name
- Paylab Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://paylab.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Paylab is an Australian mobile financial wellness platform offering retail rewards and earned wage access (5% fee) to consumers, distributed through a free B2B employee benefits product integrated with major payroll systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Paylab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Financial Wellness Platform
- NAICS
- Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121), Payroll Services (541214)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Instant Payouts & Earned Wage Access (EWA) (FSAMAKAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Pay Card Programs & Earned Wage Access (EWA) Administration (BPACAIAK), Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF), Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB)
Keywords
Where Paylab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- North Sydney
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Paylab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Earned Wage Access - Service Fee: A 5% service fee is charged on cash advance amounts transferred via the 'Pay Myself' feature. No interest is charged. The fee is automatically deducted from wages on payday alongside the advanced amount.
- Paylab Advance Assessment Fee: A $5 application fee is charged for the Advance assessment process, which is fully refunded as Paylab Rewards upon loan repayment.
- Membership Subscriptions (Club & Premium): Club membership up to $6/month and Premium membership up to $8/month, billed monthly with automatic renewal. Provides higher rewards, exclusive promotions, early access to deals, priority support, and monthly prize entries.
- Gift Card Surcharges: A surcharge is applied to recover the cost of processing credit/debit card transactions (including Apple Pay/Google Pay) when purchasing gift cards. Paylab does not profit from this surcharge.
- Gift Card / Marketplace Commission: Paylab earns commissions from retailers when users purchase gift cards through the platform. This is implicit in the rewards-funded model where retailers provide discount rates.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free plan: Standard discount at top Australian retailers, no prize entries, no early access, no priority support |
| Subscription | Monthly | Club membership: Maximum rewards, early access to deals, premium customer support, exclusive promotions — up to $6/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium membership: Maximum rewards, monthly prize entries (up to 10 tickets), early access, premium support, exclusive promotions — up to $8/month |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Earned Wage Access: 5% service fee on cash advance amount |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Card Payment Surcharge: Cost-recovery surcharge on credit/debit card and Apple Pay/Google Pay transactions |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Paylab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Paylab operates a mobile-first financial wellness platform that lets Australian consumers earn instant rewards and cashback on digital gift cards from 140+ retailers, and access a portion of their accrued wages before payday via Paylab Earned Wage Access (Paylab Advance) for a 5% service fee. Paylab for Businesses delivers the same platform as a no-cost employee benefit, with payroll-system integrations (Xero, Reckon, MYOB, Deputy, Netsuite) that automate wage reconciliation for employers.
Product overview
Paylab is a mobile-first financial wellness platform comprising a core consumer rewards product (Paylab Rewards) and a B2B employee benefits platform (Paylab for Businesses). The core Paylab App serves as the unified interface for purchasing discounted digital gift cards from 140+ Australian retailers, earning instant savings, and managing earned wage access. Paylab for Businesses offers optional add-ons including Earned Wage Access (Paylab Advance), membership tiers (Club and Premium), and charitable donations. The platform integrates with major payroll systems (Reckon, Xero, MYOB, Deputy, Netsuite) and payment processors (Till Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay). Partner products like RentPay, Novated Lease Australia, and Alex.Bank extend the platform's financial services ecosystem.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Paylab Club: Subscription membership tier offering enhanced Paylab benefits including higher rewards, early access to deals, and premium customer support.
- Paylab Premium
- Paylab Advance
- Paylab Rewards
- Paylab Donations
- Paylab Prizes
- Paylab Earned Wage Access
Products and services
- Paylab Rewards
- Paylab Earned Wage Access (Paylab Advance / Pay Myself)
- Paylab for Businesses
- Paylab Club membership
- Paylab Premium membership
- Paylab Gift Cards
- Paylab Donations
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 15% instant savings at partner retailers; up to 40% off at food delivery services
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Paylab
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Paylab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
AI capability5 records
Feature7 records
Paylab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RentPaycoreRentPay is a reward partner integrated with Paylab. Paylab Rewards are built into RentPay, allowing renters to earn rewards on purchases and use them to offset rent payments. RentPay also enables features like emergency funds, credit score improvement, and bill smoothing for renters.
- Novated Lease AustraliaminorNovated Lease Australia is a reward partner offering novated leasing benefits to Paylab users. Users gain access to exclusive car leasing deals and discounts, and can save on fuel using Paylab Rewards.
- Alex.BankminorAlex.Bank is a digital Australian challenger bank offering personal loans. Paylab users are referred to Alex.Bank for fast, fair, and flexible loans with no ongoing fees and competitive rates. Paylab may receive a commission for referrals.
- ReckoncoreReckon is a payroll integration partner. Paylab integrates with Reckon's accounting software to sync employee data, manage wage advances, rewards, and donations, all within a single platform. The integration streamlines payroll reconciliation for businesses.
- XerocorePaylab integrates with Xero's payroll and accounting platform for automated wage advance reconciliation, allowing employers to manage employee benefits through existing Xero workflows.
- MYOBcorePaylab integrates with MYOB payroll software for seamless earned wage access and reconciliation through MYOB's payroll system.
- DeputycorePaylab integrates with Deputy's scheduling and HR platform for time and attendance-based wage access, syncing approved hours to determine earned wages.
- NetsuitecorePaylab integrates with Oracle Netsuite for enterprise-level payroll and HR integration, supporting earned wage access and reconciliation for larger organizations.
- IllioncoreIllion is a third-party bank data verification partner used by Paylab for Advance eligibility assessment. Illion accesses the user's bank account (where wages are deposited) to scrape 3 months of transaction history for income and expense analysis. Paylab does not store bank credentials.
- Till PaymentscoreTill Payments is Paylab's PCI-DSS certified payment gateway provider for processing credit and debit card transactions (Visa, Mastercard, eftpos). All sensitive cardholder data is processed and stored by Till Payments; Paylab does not access or store card numbers, PINs, or CVV codes.
- Autism Community Network (ACN)minorPaylab Donations partners with the Autism Community Network as its designated charity. Paylab users can donate their earned rewards to ACN, which provides support and resources to individuals and families affected by autism. Donations are tax-deductible.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Paylab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cashrewards: Australian cashback and rewards marketplace paying users when they shop at partner retailers. Overlaps with Paylab's gift card rewards model and Australian consumer base.
- ShopBack: Asia-Pacific cashback platform operating in Australia. Comparable as a retailer-funded rewards marketplace targeting everyday consumer spending.
- Perkbox: Employee benefits and perks platform providing savings, rewards, and wellbeing tools to employers. Closely comparable B2B employee-benefits distribution model to Paylab for Business.
- Beforepay: Australian earned wage access and cash-flow platform offering before-payday advances. Closest direct competitor in the Australian market, with comparable fee-based EWA mechanics.
- PayActiv: US-headquartered EWA platform integrated with employer payroll systems, providing earned wage access to employees. Comparable product mechanics and B2B distribution model.
- Even: US earned wage access and budgeting app partnering with employers to provide on-demand pay. Directly comparable product offering for employees seeking pay flexibility.
- Dave: US fintech offering small cash advances, budgeting tools, and side-income features to cash-strapped consumers. Comparable in serving underbanked users with low-fee alternatives to payday loans.
Broad incumbents
- Employment Hero: Australian HR, payroll, and employee benefits platform with broader functionality. Overlapping customer base of Australian SMB employers using payroll software, though not an EWA specialist.
Others
- Wisr: Australian personal finance and credit-building platform. Adjacent fintech serving Australian consumers with financial wellness products but with a different core offering.
- Illion: Australian data and analytics provider currently used by Paylab for bank-data verification. Key ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but adjacent to Paylab's eligibility-assessment workflow.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Paylab social profiles
Digital presencePaylab compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Paylab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Paylab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Paylab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Paylab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Paylab
What does Paylab do?
Paylab operates a mobile-first financial wellness platform that lets Australian consumers earn instant rewards and cashback on digital gift cards from 140+ retailers, and access a portion of their accrued wages before payday via Paylab Earned Wage Access (Paylab Advance) for a 5% service fee. Paylab for Businesses delivers the same platform as a no-cost employee benefit, with payroll-system integrations (Xero, Reckon, MYOB, Deputy, Netsuite) that automate wage reconciliation for employers.
Is Paylab a public or private company?
Paylab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Paylab founded?
Paylab was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Paylab based?
Paylab is headquartered in North Sydney, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Paylab make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Earned Wage Access - Service Fee is the primary driver. The others are paylab Advance Assessment Fee, membership Subscriptions (Club & Premium), gift Card Surcharges and gift Card / Marketplace Commission.
Who are Paylab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cashrewards, ShopBack, Perkbox, Beforepay, PayActiv, Even and Dave. Employment Hero is listed as a broad incumbent. Others are Wisr and Illion.
Does Paylab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Paylab.
What industry is Paylab in?
Paylab's product category is Financial Wellness Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAKAM, Instant Payouts & Earned Wage Access (EWA), with a secondary code of BPACAIAK, Pay Card Programs & Earned Wage Access (EWA) Administration. Its NAICS code is 54121 and its SIC code is 7372.