Clair, an early stage fintech startup based in New York City, wants America’s 82 million hourly workers and 57 million gig workers to get paid as quickly as Uber pays their drivers today: instantly. Today, Clair announced a $4.5 million seed round led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Founder Collective and Walkabout Ventures. Former Venmo COO Michael Vaughan and Seamless Founder Paul Appelbaum also participated in the round.
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Social fintech @getclair announces $4.5M seed round to end payday loans and pay America’s workers faster
With the surge in unemployment brought about by the pandemic, nearly 40% of Americans said they would struggle to cover an unexpected $250 expense. In the face of an emergency, they often need to take out high-interest payday loans that trap them in a debt cycle. In response, several payroll providers and time and attendance providers announced instant payment features that would give workers the option to get paid daily. Clair is betting that these are the early signs of a coming wave that will significantly shorten the standard two-week pay cycle.
Moreover, by offering instant payment services to up and coming gig platforms in addition to traditional workforce management systems, Clair hopes to help them win over and retain new freelancers. A 2019 report showed that 65% of skilled gig workers would consider switching to a platform that paid faster, while 85% said they would work more often if they were paid faster.
Free capital and digital bank accounts for hourly workers
“We are thrilled to be one of the only sources of free capital for America’s hourly and gig workers” says Nico Simko, Clair’s Co-Founder and CEO. “We believe that everybody should be able to freely access money they’ve already earned. There are more payday lenders than McDonald’s in the US that charge on average more than 300% annual interest on loans. So we have one simple vision: it’s time for change.” Simko spent several years with JP Morgan’s Wholesale Payments team after graduating from Harvard with an economics degree.
