Clair, a provider of embedded earned wage access infrastructure for payroll and workforce platforms, has introduced Clair Connect, a product that makes its payroll-connected On-Demand Pay service available within banking, fintech, and workforce apps. The launch is intended to bring wage advances to the apps that millions of workers already use, without requiring those apps to build payroll integrations themselves.
How Clair Connect works
Clair Connect links workers directly to Clair’s payroll partners. The process begins by matching a worker’s identity to a payroll partner, after which the worker completes a two-factor authentication step. Once connected, the worker can access Clair’s payroll-connected On-Demand Pay experience from within the partner app.
The operating model divides responsibilities between three parties. The advances are originated by Pathward, a nationally chartered bank, while Clair handles underwriting and servicing. Partner apps are not required to develop or maintain payroll integrations of their own to offer the service. This structure removes a technical requirement that would otherwise fall to each bank, fintech, or workforce platform seeking to provide advances backed by payroll data.
Extending access to users outside payroll integrations
The product is also aimed at a segment of Clair’s existing user base. According to the company, hundreds of thousands of its users are currently not connected to payroll, and this group is approved for advances at far lower rates. With Clair Connect, these users will be able to obtain payroll-connected On-Demand Pay for the first time.
The distinction matters because payroll data underpins the advances. Connecting a worker to payroll through an identity match and authentication step, rather than depending on an existing payroll integration within a given app, widens the group of users who can be assessed on that basis.
Clair CEO Nico Simko stated that Clair Connect was built so that payroll-connected users can receive pay advances in whichever app they use, and so that payroll partners can reach those users across platforms. He also added that linking Clair’s work with workforce platforms and payroll partners forms part of its effort to build a network intended to make consumer credit more accessible for workers.
Rollout and next steps
Clair plans to roll out Clair Connect to partners across workforce management, banking, fintech, and consumer finance. The first partnership under the product is expected to be announced in the coming months. The company has not disclosed the identity of initial partners or a detailed rollout schedule.
The launch takes Clair’s On-Demand Pay beyond the payroll and workforce platforms it already powers and into a wider set of consumer-facing financial apps, with the originating bank, Clair, and the distributing app each holding defined roles in the process.
