Fiserv Acquires Earned Wage Access Firm Payfare

Payments and financial services technology company Fiserv is acquiring earned wage access (EWA) provider Payfare.

“This acquisition complements the embedded finance solutions of Fiserv with card program management, a white-label consumer app, and a microservices orchestration layer,” Fiserv said in a news release Monday (Dec. 23).

Those offerings from Payfare, combined with Fiserv’s expertise in processing, bank ledgers and integrated value-added services, enhance the Fiserv solution in embedded banking, payments and lending and help address the needs of large enterprises and financial institutions, the release added.

The transaction, subject to shareholder and court approval and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the first half of next year.

“Payfare has built a reputation as an innovator in workforce payments for gig-economy companies,” Fiserv Chairman, President and CEO Frank Bisignano said in the announcement.

“Together, we can accelerate the delivery of embedded finance solutions for all of our clients, empowering their next chapter of success. We look forward to welcoming the talented Payfare team to Fiserv.”

Becoming part of Fiserv is a tremendous opportunity for Payfare, said Marco Margiotta, the company’s CEO and founding partner.

“We recognize that Fiserv gives us enhanced scale and technology which better positions us to serve a growing number of large organizations and deliver a modern digital experience,” he said.

In related news, PYMNTS wrote recently about the way payment facilitators (PayFacs), independent software vendors (ISVs) and marketplaces from the logistics and wholesale trade industry are enhancing their embedded finance capabilities to bolster customer satisfaction, revenue growth and competitiveness.

“More than half of PayFacs and marketplaces in this sector view embedded finance as highly important to their innovation plans,” that report said, citing research by PYMNTS Intelligence and Carat from Fiserv.

“Nearly 1 in 3 plan to expand or start offering these features in the next year. ISVs in the sector, while also embracing innovation, are doing so at a more measured pace.”

Embedded finance features like loyalty and rewards; buy now, pay later (BNPL) and business credit are top priorities, with businesses saying that integrating digital wallets for payment acceptance has also become essential.

Meanwhile, Fiserv’s Bisignano is headed to the White House. President-elect Donald Trump announced earlier this month that he’d chosen the executive to oversee the Social Security Administration, the country’s largest federal program.

Bisignano, 65, has served as Fiserv’s CEO since 2020 after a stint as chief executive of First Data, which was purchased by Fiserv in 2019. He initially led the combined company’s day-to-day functions as chief operating officer (COO) before becoming CEO.