Payroll infrastructure startup Check raises $35mn Series B funding from Stripe and Thrive

By Pavithra R

Check, a payroll-as-a-service API startup missioned to make paying people simple, has announced its public launch with $35 mn in Series B funding from Stripe and Thrive Capital. The investment raised the firm’s total funding to date to $44 mn.

Small business owners are facing various hardships to run payroll. Though modern operating systems that run these businesses — point-of-sale, time tracking, and vertical SaaS software integrate a whole host of tailored workflows, almost none are able to offer payroll. Check makes building a payroll product radically easier.

Check was founded in 2019 by the team that built Oyster, the Netflix for books, which was acquired by Google in 2015. It is a payroll-as-a-service API that lets users embed payroll directly in their vertical SaaS, HR, or time-tracking platform. The FinTech provides all the building blocks to create a full-featured payroll product for businesses. Its powerful API, modular white-label onboarding components, and partner dashboard make for seamless and fully customizable integration.

“We built Check to enable innovation in the way people get paid, and I’m thrilled to share our public launch. With Check, developers can now build wage payments into their apps just as easily as accepting an online payment,” said Andrew Brown, CEO and co-founder.

Last year the firm closed an $8 mn Series A led by Bedrock with participation from Thrive and Index, and in 2019 it raised a $1 mn Seed round from Bedrock. The FinTech is planning to use the new finance to continue to grow the team.

“Check has developed an elegant solution that abstracts complexity, reduces risk, and removes friction in the payroll process that every company has to navigate. The Check team is uniquely suited to continue innovating in this domain and make paying people simple,” said Chris Sperandio, corporate development with Stripe.