Clair: Clair Raises Another $25M to Make On-Demand Pay an Employee Benefit for Millions

Nearly two-thirds of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck according to CNBC's Your Money Financial Confidence Survey. Nearly half will not be able to handle an unexpected $400 expense. With workers and their families operating on such tight margins, improving the timing of cash flows can be the difference between retaining an employee or having them quit. Clair is a free, on-demand pay platform that allows front-line workers to take wage advances without the onerous fees charged by conventional payday lenders. The recently-launched startup works with Pathward, a national FDIC-insured back, to offer the lending program in addition to a suite of other digital banking services including a Spending and high-yield Savings accounts as well as a branded, rewards-earning Debit Mastercard. Clair is integrated with popular workforce platforms like Gusto, TCP, 7shifts, and When I Work to offer seamless access for workers to receive payment immediately at the end of their shifts versus waiting weeks for a check that will take another few days to cash. The company has also launched Clair for Employers to allow employers that are not using one of the integrated platforms to offer on-demand pay as a benefit without investing significant time and resources to get up and running. The banking-as-a-service provider is already trusted by organizations like Viking, Everview, and SanStone Health & Rehabilitation as well as franchisees of Sheraton, DoubleTree by Hilton, and GNC. AlleyWatch caught up with Clair CEO and Cofounder Nico Simko to learn more about the business, the company's strategic plans, latest round of funding, and much, much more...