Finch

Today's employment landscape is fragmented and complex. However, the future promises greater connectivity and integration among top players in HR tech, benefits, and fintech. The Finch team is thrilled to announce the launch of our inaugural Open Employment Ecosystem Market Map. This map features 225 companies across 15 categories and offers a comprehensive view of the open employment ecosystem. "Companies today use many applications to manage their workforce, leaving critical employee data scattered across systems of record and point solutions. While companies continue to choose best-of-breed tools for their specific needs, the lack of connectivity between these systems is a huge challenge—especially to and from payroll systems," said Alex Tran, Manager Director at General Catalyst.  "The vision of an Open Employment Ecosystem where data flows seamlessly is the primary reason we backed the Finch team, and we’re thrilled to see the first version of their market map feature other General Catalyst portfolio companies such as Awardco, Factorial, Gusto and Thatch." Whether you’re an employment application, payroll provider, investor, or just curious, check out our detailed map here: https://lnkd.in/e6RyTyUm  #HRtech #HR

SFTP has long been the go-to method for accessing payroll data, but it presents significant scaling challenges. Each connection is unique, meaning the work doesn’t become more efficient over time. Additionally, the varying data formats across payroll systems make automation difficult, often requiring manual data processing. As companies grow, this manual workload becomes unsustainable. We explore the four most common challenges companies face when trying to scale SFTP integrations.

“Finch is a benefit in the sales process. When prospective customers ask if we can integrate with their HRIS, Finch enables us to very easily say yes." - Amy Chou, Chief Product Officer, Addition Wealth Addition Wealth, a financial wellness company, partners with forward-thinking organizations to make personalized financial expertise more inclusive and accessible. To deliver tailored insights efficiently, Addition Wealth turned to Finch for streamlined HRIS and payroll integrations. By leveraging Finch’s API, they can access up-to-date employee data, ensuring that changes—like raises or retirement plan adjustments—are instantly reflected on their platform. This integration enhances the customer experience, keeping financial dashboards current and accurate. ⬇️ Discover how Addition Wealth utilizes Finch to keep employee financial data always up to date. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g2z-BjXJ

Why did we start Finch? We were initially inspired by the impact Plaid had on the financial ecosystem. Just as Plaid opened up access to banking data, making it easier, more compliant, and secure, we saw a parallel opportunity in the employment ecosystem. Employment data is mission-critical. It holds insights that employers can leverage to understand who their employees are, how they work, how they’re compensated, and so much more. Yet, this vital information remains locked within fragmented systems, hindering our ability to fully understand and utilize it. In the US, the top 10 payroll providers account for just 55% of the market share, meaning nearly half of US employers’ data is locked in long-tail systems. This fragmentation burdens HR and people ops professionals with the tedious task of manually connecting and updating these systems. Mistakes can lead to compliance issues, misfilings, and even tax implications. Finch aims to bridge this gap by serving as the connective layer between these disparate HRIS and payroll systems and the point applications that need the employment data they hold. We're not just making life easier for employers, we're fostering innovation across the entire ecosystem. By providing secure, compliant access to core employment data, we're empowering hundreds of applications to address the diverse needs of businesses across various verticals, industries, and sizes. We believe that a more open, connected employment ecosystem benefits everyone. It empowers individuals with greater control over their data, streamlines operations for businesses, and unlocks a new wave of innovation in the HR tech space.

We're thrilled to announce another addition to our executive team: in July, Yelena Kozlova 🇺🇦 joined as our new VP of Marketing! Yelena comes to Finch from Synctera, a banking and payments API platform where she was the VP of Marketing and Communications. She also spent 3 years leading Marketing efforts at Guideline, a modern retirement platform, where she developed a deep understanding of the employment sector and the unique challenges employment applications face in accessing timely, accurate employer data. Yelena's industry experience and demonstrated success in leading Marketing efforts for data-driven products have already proved enormously valuable to Finch, and we're excited to see how she leads the team to new heights. Congratulations Yelena, and welcome to the team!

The U.S. retirement landscape is evolving rapidly. As an aging population faces the risk of outliving their savings, tech-savvy Gen Z employees and new legislation are reshaping sponsor expectations. These shifts are driving four key trends that will define the retirement industry in the coming decade: ➾ Enhanced connectivity for real-time information sharing. ➾ Increased automation to streamline operations. ➾ Improved user experiences to stay competitive. ➾ Proactive strategies for navigating complex regulations. We explore these trends and their impact on retirement service providers in 2024 and beyond.

In the US, employers are the primary providers of benefits, playing a crucial role in their employees' financial well-being. But, soaring costs are making it difficult to offer competitive packages, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. These companies face limited resources, stricter regulations, and a lack of support from traditional benefits providers. The good news is that technology is unlocking new possibilities for employer-sponsored benefits. 💡 Emerging providers are leveraging API integrations with HRIS and payroll systems to offer more affordable and flexible solutions, especially for SMBs. 🔹𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀: These integrations streamline processes, saving time and money for both providers and employers. 🔹𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Automation leads to significant cost savings, allowing smaller employers to access the scale advantages previously enjoyed only by large enterprises. 🔹𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: The cost of benefits doesn't increase exponentially with company growth, enabling businesses to maintain robust packages even as they expand. These modern providers are still gaining market share, but their focus on underserved SMBs and cost-effective solutions positions them to disrupt the benefits landscape. ===================== 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵 Finch's Unified Employment API connects you with hundreds of HRIS and payroll systems through a single API, streamlining benefits administration. Onboard employers quickly, enroll new employees seamlessly, and automate updates to contributions and deductions. Make integrations your competitive advantage.

Unified API vs. iPaaS: Which should you use? Choosing the right integration approach is a strategic, long-term decision. One is not necessarily better than the other. Instead, each offers distinct advantages that suit different situations. Here are 7 factors to consider:

First impressions are everything, making your user onboarding experience crucial. A seamless onboarding process enables customers to quickly use your product and realize its value. Automated user onboarding is key to creating an exceptional user experience, reducing manual effort, and allowing customers to self-serve. In the employment sector, onboarding can be challenging due to the need to import data from HRIS or payroll platforms. Instead of relying on manual data transfers or costly SFTP setups, integrating directly with HRIS and payroll systems allows for secure, automated onboarding, ensuring a smooth and efficient customer experience. 💡 Learn how to automate user onboarding with HRIS and payroll integrations to deliver value to customers faster (with examples, benefits, and tips for automating onboarding). https://lnkd.in/gxrxwMC2

At Finch, data security is not an afterthought; it's woven into the fabric of our products, policies, and practices. And it’s been that way since day one. We prioritize the protection of our customers', employers', and employees' data at every level. ✦ Our infrastructure exceeds industry standards, employing best-in-class encryption protocols like TLS 1.2 and AES 256-bit encryption to safeguard data in transit and at rest. ✦ We cultivate a strong security culture, ensuring all employees are equipped with the training, tools, and knowledge to work securely. ✦ Finch's Secure Development Lifecycle integrates security into the design process from the very beginning, guaranteeing our products, policies, and practices exceed industry standards. ✦ We leverage industry-leading cloud infrastructure with robust safety enhancements for optimal performance, resilience, and rapid deployment. ✦ Our infrastructure is continuously monitored using top-tier intrusion detection systems, with a 24/7 on-call team to promptly address any alerts. ✦ Finch is SOC 2 and CCPA compliant, with an independent audit report detailing our comprehensive controls. ✦ Our API empowers employers with full control over their data, requiring explicit consent for any data access requests. We never sell identifiable or anonymized employer or employee data. Finch prompts employers to review and grant consent for specific data points an application seeks to access. With Finch, you can trust that your employment data is in safe hands.