How DailyPay modernized identity and automated AWS access with C1

About DailyPay

DailyPay is a worktech platform that offers on-demand pay and financial wellness solutions for employers and employees. By giving workers real-time access to their earned wages, DailyPay helps businesses modernize the employee experience and boost workforce productivity.

The challenge: Reduce manual work and improve audit readiness

As DailyPay scaled, the IT and security teams needed better ways to manage access across a growing number of SaaS applications and infrastructure resources. According to Director of IT Marc Grayson, the existing IT ticketing system was too manual and time-consuming to support efficient audits or access reviews.

Before C1, user access reviews were done quarterly and relied on spreadsheets. That meant accuracy was difficult to maintain, and the process required coordination between application owners and the security team to cross-check active users. At the same time, many access requests were routed through the IT team, even when they didn’t own the applications being requested, creating bottlenecks and using up valuable IT time.

“We sometimes had to wait a week or two because of licensing issues we weren’t aware of.  C1 gives us what we were looking for. The person deals directly with the app owner and my team is not in the middle.” — Marcos Reinoso, IT Team Lead

The goal was clear: implement a modern identity governance system that streamlined reviews, eliminated unnecessary manual effort, supported internal audit, and addressed AWS access complexity.

The solution: One platform for requests, reviews, and AWS JIT access

DailyPay adopted C1 to centralize access reviews and automate provisioning workflows. With over 200 SaaS apps in the stack, the team needed direct integration with Okta and Terraform to support both cloud infrastructure and app entitlements.

“Having both access requests and reviews in a single pane of glass was a must-have for us. It brought together both sides of the house.” — Marc Grayson, Director of IT

For AWS, the challenge was particularly complex. DailyPay manages 100 AWS accounts, each with its own approval process. Some projects required only a manager’s approval, while others needed both a manager and a project owner. C1’s flexible policy engine allows DailyPay to dynamically assign the right approvers for each AWS account without manual intervention, and Terraform makes it easy to configure and manage these complex policies at scale.

“I don’t think this would have been possible without Terraform.” — Stephen Darling, Staff Infrastructure Engineer

JIT in AWS: From 300 monthly requests to zero

Before C1, AWS access was managed through IT tickets, averaging 300 requests per month. Each required 3–5 minutes of IT time, adding up to roughly 20 hours per month just processing requests.

C1’s JIT access transformed that process. In a matter of weeks, DailyPay deployed AWS JIT access across all accounts using C1 policies. Engineers now request AWS access directly in C1, triggering dynamic approval workflows. Access is time-bound and revoked automatically.

“One day you requested AWS access through IT tickets. The next day you didn’t. We didn’t have to roll it out in stages—just a clean cutover.” — Stephen Darling, Staff Infrastructure Engineer

The result: 300 monthly AWS access request tickets eliminated. The IT team no longer spends time approving and chasing requests, and engineers get the access they need without waiting.

Accuracy, visibility, and adoption

C1 also modernized access reviews for DailyPay. By connecting directly to apps, the platform delivers real-time user data, improving accuracy over spreadsheets. Built-in notifications keep app owners informed, making reviews faster and reducing unnecessary access.

“Many of our applications were running off spreadsheets. With C1, we get an up-to-date look into the applications. That gives us more accurate results.” — Victoria King, Senior Security Analyst

Internal adoption has been strong, driven by integrations that fit naturally into existing workflows. Slack notifications and a command-line interface have made requesting and approving access fast and seamless.

The outcome: Security, speed, and flexibility

DailyPay’s IT and security teams now spend less time on manual access work and more time on strategic initiatives. AWS access is fully automated and auditable, and application reviews are more accurate and efficient. C1’s native Terraform provider ensures consistent policy enforcement and easy scalability.

“C1 gave us the ability to balance security, speed, and flexibility.” — Stephen Darling, Staff Infrastructure Engineer

The C1 difference is clear.

“C1 is unmatched in this space.” — Marc Grayson, Director of IT