Talent retention is top of mind for workplaces everywhere — and rethinking traditional paydays has become a key differentiator. Waiting two weeks for earnings leaves workers vulnerable to emergencies and pushes many toward costly payday loans.
Branch changes that. The company gives workplaces the power to pay all kinds of workers, all kinds of earnings, at any time. Workers can access funds quickly through a Branch account and debit card, or via Branch Direct, which delivers payments straight to their preferred account.
The Challenge: Fast Growth Meets Slow Cash Flow
Branch started as a shift-management app, helping workers pick up extra shifts and earn more money. But there was one big catch — they still had to wait for payday.
To fix that, Branch began offering earned wage access, providing workers a portion of their earnings based on hours they had already worked. The feature took off, “going viral” at one of the nation’s largest retail chains.
The demand only continued to grow, and to keep scaling sustainably, the company needed additional infrastructure to ensure fast, reliable payments.
The Solution: Instant Payments with TabaPay
Branch’s bank introduced the team to TabaPay, an (at the time) recently-founded money movement platform already making waves for its expert solutioning, strong service, and high reliability. In particular, TabaPay’s push-to-card capabilities for instant disbursement, and T+1/T+0 repayment seemed like a great fit for Branch’s growing needs.
For Ahmed Siddiqui, Branch’s Chief Payments Officer, the recommendation made perfect sense.
“I consider [TabaPay co-founder and CEO] Rodney Robinson one of my top mentors in the payment space overall. That guy knows everything,” said Siddiqui. “And I don’t think there’s anyone who understands how the networks operate better than [TabaPay co-founder and CRO] Manoj Verma.”
Together, Branch and TabaPay were able to instantly push disbursements to customers on demand.
“TabaPay absolutely has the most knowledge and the strongest service level for push-to-card,” Siddiqui says.
The results were immediate, giving Branch greater cash flow and delighting customers with money exactly when they needed it. And Branch had full confidence entrusting TabaPay with sensitive data, given the latter company’s strict PCI protocols.
” TabaPay absolutely has the most knowledge and the strongest service level for push-to-card.” – Ahmed Siddiqui, Chief Payments Officer, Branch
The Partnership Evolves
As Branch grew, the company realized it could solve more than just cash-flow timing. Many workers struggled with minimum-balance fees that drained their limited funds. Branch saw an opportunity to build something better — a holistic digital wallet and debit card.
“TabaPay gave us conviction that we could both address a major need and actually execute in terms of the money movement needed.” – Ahmed Siddiqui, Chief Payments Officer at Branch
Over the past six years, Branch has evolved into a full-scale workforce payments platform, helping workplaces pay all kinds of workers at any time, including nights, weekends, and holidays, to the Branch App or to an existing account.
Through every stage of Branch’s evolution, TabaPay has been a trusted partner. Together, they adapted push-to-card functionality and enabled seamless transfers from the Branch digital wallet and direct payouts to workers’ other accounts. “We worked closely with the TabaPay team to evolve our use cases,” said Siddiqui. “As with any startup, things move fast at Branch — and it was great working with a team that moves at our speed.”
Results That Speak for Themselves
Branch’s commitment to financial flexibility — powered by TabaPay — has paid off. The company has raised more than $600 million and continues to expand into the embedded-payments space.
The Branch App has earned multiple accolades, including a Webby Award and two FinTech Breakthrough Awards for Best Payment Enablement Platform.
Today, Branch partners with leading brands like Instacart and Pizza Hut, helping workers nationwide get paid faster and gain greater financial control.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re living paycheck to paycheck or leading a large company,” Siddiqui added. “Everyone can benefit from getting paid faster.”
The Takeaway
From the first $50 cash advance to empowering millions with on-demand pay, Branch’s journey shows what happens when fintech innovation meets instant payments.
With TabaPay’s reliability and expertise, Branch continues to redefine what flexible pay means for American workers — and the workplaces who depend on them. “For companies that are scaling, I always tell them to go with TabaPay,” said Siddiqui.
