Branch adds Lead Bank as new banking partner to scale payments

By Vriti Gothi

Branch, a payments platform, has partnered with Lead Bank, Member FDIC, as its banking and card-issuing partner.

This collaboration marks an important step in Branch’s mission to deliver seamless, technology-driven financial solutions to an expanding network of workplaces, industries, and marketplaces.

Under this partnership, Lead Bank will serve as a sponsor bank for Branch’s award-winning suite of workforce payment solutions. This includes the Branch App and Card, which offer workers a modern digital banking account and debit card, as well as Branch’s White Label solutions that enable businesses to deliver custom-branded payment experiences. Through its robust platform, Branch empowers employers and workers with faster, more flexible payment options from cashless tips and mileage reimbursements to earned wage access, contractor payouts, off-cycle payments, paycards, and direct deposits for both W-2 and 1099 workforces.

The collaboration reinforces Branch’s strategic position as a trusted partner to some of the nation’s largest employers, while enabling it to deepen its reach across vital sectors including hospitality, gig platforms and marketplaces, staffing, construction, logistics, and agriculture. By combining Lead Bank’s regulatory expertise and banking infrastructure with Branch’s digital-first payments technology, the partnership is designed to accelerate the delivery of customer-centric, reliable, and scalable financial solutions.

Atif Siddiqi, CEO of Branch, said, “Branch and Lead share a commitment to delivering experience-driven financial services and serving as trusted partners that propel innovation. We look forward to having them as a partner that fuses regulatory expertise with modern technology and can help us further scale our offerings as we provide fast, flexible payments experiences to more workplaces.”

Jackie Reses, CEO, at Lead Bank,  said, “We’re excited to work with Branch, one of the fastest growing companies in FinTech, fueled by ever-rising demand for seamless workforce payments. Branch and Lead both believe in an innovation-first approach to banking services, and together we can use technology to improve the financial lives of businesses, their workers, and their customers.”

Branch’s continued momentum has earned recognition as one of the fastest-growing companies by Deloitte and Inc., while FinTech Breakthrough recently named Branch “Best Payment Enablement Platform” in its 9th Annual FinTech Breakthrough Awards Programme. This strategic partnership with Lead Bank positions Branch to further advance its roadmap of transforming workforce payments and driving financial wellbeing for businesses and their people.