How Stefan Sjoberg Engineered Peak Pay™ to Redefine an Industry
When you talk to Stefan Sjoberg, one of UnionHub’s Senior Software Engineers and the architect behind Peak Pay™, you quickly realize you’re speaking with someone who lives at the intersection of precision and purpose. A mathematician at heart and an engineer by discipline, Sjoberg blends analytical rigor with an almost craftsman-like dedication to building systems that make life simpler for real people.
A Foundation in Mathematics, Curiosity, and Craft
Sjoberg’s path to engineering began at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he double majored in Mathematics and Computer Science. Mathematics gave him the joy of problem-solving; computer science became the practical application of that enjoyment. Outside of work, he and his family spend their time hiking, camping, skiing, and taking in live theater.
Before UnionHub, Sjoberg served as a Senior Software Engineer for Arapahoe County in Colorado, where he built systems for property assessment, taxation, budgeting, document management, and more. The variety sharpened his versatility and prepared him to build high-impact systems.
The transition to UnionHub came through CTO Matthew Bowden and a compelling vision. What attracted Sjoberg wasn’t just the chance to build something new from scratch; it was Founder & CEO Ed Haley’s drive and entrepreneurial instinct.
The Birth of Peak Pay™: Solving the Hardest Problem in Elective Benefits
The idea for Peak Pay™ emerged alongside the early formation of UnionHub. At the time, the team struggled to scale using outsourced development. Bringing engineering in-house revealed an industry gap: elective benefits payments were fundamentally broken.
Employers often avoid elective benefits because collecting premiums is inconsistent or impossible under common edge cases (like disability leave). UnionHub initially used a third-party payment gateway, but it was expensive and inflexible. That friction led to the realization they needed to build their own gateway.
Peak Pay™’s guiding principle: Make elective benefit payments behave like payroll deductions—accurate, automated, effortless.
The system tracks attribution with penny-level accuracy, giving carriers far better visibility than they typically receive.
Inside the Architecture: Real-Time Payment Data, Built for an Industry Stuck in Batch Files
Peak Pay™ is Real Time Payment (RTP) ready, even though industry adoption is still catching up. The system is engineered with readiness for real-time payments as smaller banks and credit unions progress toward modernization.
Peak Pay™’s architecture consists of:
- Integration with the UnionHub platform
- A backend service managing the payment lifecycle
- Post-processing and analytics determining routing and reconciliation
This enables near real-time visibility and monthly reconciliation that precisely matches every inflow with its purpose.
Peak Pay™ also supports year‑round enrollment and dynamic changes—something traditional systems cannot handle.
The Business Impact: Setting Industry Records in Premium Yield
Peak Pay™ is central to UnionHub’s industry-leading premium processing yield. “Yield” reflects the percentage of premiums successfully collected and delivered without delay or loss.
Peak Pay™ improves yield through:
- Precise attribution
- Reduced reconciliation gaps
- Clear visibility for carriers
- Automation of the payment lifecycle
The result is significantly reduced premium leakage and higher accuracy.
Integration, Standards, and Scaling a Modern Payments Engine
Peak Pay™ interacts with carrier billing systems and trust fund administration tools. Scalability is central—not just in throughput but in its ability to support any benefit type, data format, or payment schedule.
Industry standards such as LDEx and emerging banking APIs influence future-proof communication models for eligibility and payment data.
Looking Ahead: RTP, Innovation, and the Future of Benefits Payments
The next major milestone is Real-Time Payments (RTP). Once adoption reaches critical mass, Peak Pay™ will enable:
- Instant premium funding
- Day-of-coverage activation
- Dynamic, real-time balance management
- Elimination of reconciliation delays
Sjoberg believes RTP will reshape the benefits industry by enabling continuous eligibility. He is most excited about solving the challenge of fully automating exception handling—an advancement that could redefine the industry’s infrastructure model.
His advice to engineers:
“Don’t underestimate the complexity—but don’t fear it either. Build systems that respect the rules but innovate around the friction.”
Conclusion
Peak Pay™ is more than a payment gateway—it is modern infrastructure built to transform a slow-moving industry. And at the center is Stefan Sjoberg, whose blend of precision and purpose has turned UnionHub’s vision into a reality.
