Gusto Cites Security Concerns In Zenefits API Dispute

Small business accountants have said they are now forced to manually transfer data between payroll and human resources solution providers Gusto and Zenefits after the two companies abruptly ended their application programming interface (API) integration, AccountingToday reported.

While a spokesperson for Zenefits told the publication that “Zenefits still has an integration with Gusto for payroll,” reports noted that the integration does not support the ability for small business accountants to onboard new employees, or make changes to existing employees’ bank and tax details, salaries or exemptions.

Zenefits added, “Gusto required that we modify our payroll integration using the latest version of their API, which does not support the same features as the current integration. Effective next month, joint customers who continue to use Gusto for payroll will need to manually enter information the API does not support, such as banking and tax details.”

Gusto, on the other hand, said its decision to request changes on Zenefits’ end stems from security issues.

“We asked Zenefits to update their practices for how they were using the integration because the approach they were using created risk of sensitive customer information falling into the wrong hands. Our request was for Zenefits to comply with our existing policies, which all of our partners do,” a spokesperson said. “None of this is a result of any new changes that Gusto has implemented. … These security protocols exist in order to keep customer information secure and private. We believe that keeping customer information secure and private is in fact being customer-first.”

The dispute highlights the challenge that financial services platforms can face as more end users demand seamless data integration between portals, as well as solutions to manual data entry. It also emphasizes the importance of data security as information is more easily moved between platforms.