Founded in 1971, Paychex, Inc. provides human resources, payroll and benefits outsourcing services to small- to medium-sized businesses. Today, the company works with more than 680,000 U.S. businesses, many of which are small firms without a dedicated payroll department.

Need

While the human resources side of Paychex has seen the greatest growth — an average rate of 12% per year over the past decade — payroll processing remains the company’s main source of business, representing 53% of total revenues. Paychex had been waiting for an innovation that would remedy the ongoing problem of correcting payroll mistakes that prevent the disbursement of payment and to meet payroll obligations when immediate distribution is required. This would demand a solution that could connect the company’s internal systems and allow Paychex to move the payday process date to the check date.

Solution

In May of 2020 (at the height of COVID-19 disruption), Paychex worked with PNC to implement Real-Time Payments (RTP®) capabilities that would meet the company’s need for flexibility and ease of use to handle their unique business demands. Our Treasury Management and digital professionals collaborated with the Paychex team from the start, enabling us to completely understand the company’s current situation, its needs and its vision for what successful implementation would look like. With RTP experience that dates back to the system’s introduction in 2017, PNC was able to provide the experience and insights that delivered immediate benefits.

Results

To host the file transfer and APIs, the company leveraged PNC’s RTP APIs, a solution offered as part of our digital suite that includes our award-winning PINACLE® online platform. The use of APIs was critical in enabling Paychex’s internal systems to connect with one another. This allows Paychex to deliver real-time payments to other financial institutions through The Clearing House. The solution also enabled Paychex to move the payday process date to the check date, removing the need to have dollars account for, allocated and, in several instances, withdrawn several days prior to the check date.

Partnering with PNC Treasury Management was an easy decision for us to make. Since the invention of direct deposit in the 1970s, the payroll industry has always been faced with the very challenges RTP now addresses. It helps remedy payroll issues right away.
— Eric Wade Project Strategy Manager, Paychex