Pathward Financial, through its subsidiary Pathward, N.A. announced the renewal of its partnership with Clair, an embedded financial technology company, to further expand access to earned wage advances through payroll and workforce platforms. Under the new agreement, Pathward will continue to act as the banking and lending partner by providing the banking and origination infrastructure for advances made available through Clair, enabling eligible workers to access a portion of their earned wages before their upcoming paycheck. Existing payroll and workforce data are integrated with the new advance capability, enabling participating companies to provide employees with the flexibility of on-demand pay as a financial wellness benefit without changing existing payroll workflows or payment, and without adding fees for the employer. “Clair has built an embedded solution that gives workers greater choice in when they access their earnings,” said Pathward’s Chief Customer Officer Will Sowell.
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“Extending our partnership reflects our shared commitment to responsible innovation and expands the reach of a solution designed to improve financial access. We look forward to continuing to provide the banking and lending infrastructure that supports Clair’s growth.” According to Clair, its platform has reached a $2 billion annualized wage-advance volume run rate, serves 500,000 monthly active users, and supports more than 300,000 active businesses. The extended partnership builds on the companies’ existing collaboration to make earned wage access available through the digital platforms employees already use. “Our partnership with Pathward has been central to building an experience that can scale responsibly across payroll and workforce platforms,” said Clair CEO and Founder Nico Simko. “This extension allows us to continue expanding access to earned wages through the technology workers already use.” The announcement highlights the growing role of embedded financial technology in HR and payroll, as employers explore accessible financial wellness benefits and fintech providers work with banking partners to expand responsible access to earned income.
