Check

Payroll & Earned Wage Access

Embedded payroll API that lets software platforms add full-service payroll, tax filing included, in weeks.

Overview

Check is the leading US embedded payroll infrastructure provider, enabling B2B software platforms to add full-service payroll to their products through a single REST API. Rather than building payroll from scratch — which requires money transmitter licenses in all 50 states, integrations with thousands of tax jurisdictions, ACH orchestration, and ongoing compliance — platforms integrate Check's API and embeddable Components to launch a fully branded payroll product in weeks. Check handles the federal, state, and local tax filing, payment movement, employer KYC, and fraud/credit risk on behalf of partners. Check's product stack includes core payroll APIs, embeddable white-label UI Components (eliminating the need to build payroll-specific UI), and a managed Console for partner operations. Beyond standard W-2 payroll, Check supports 1099 contractor payments, non-profit and agricultural payroll, off-cycle and bonus runs, and multi-EIN structures. The platform processed $4.1B in payroll in 2024 and reports 99.999% uptime. It holds Money Transmitter Licenses in all 50 states + DC under Check Payments LLC (NMLS #2103307), so platform partners need no licenses of their own. Founded in 2019 in New York by Andrew Brown (CEO) and co-founders from Stripe. Backed by Stripe, Thrive Capital, Bedrock, and Index Ventures, with $119M total raised across Seed through Series C ($75M Series C in February 2022 led by Stripe at a reported $1.25B+ valuation). Notable platform customers include Homebase, Housecall Pro, Wave, 7shifts, and Warp — 65+ partners in total. Pricing is opaque and custom; the commercial model is revenue share with partners earning a portion of payroll fees plus platform fees.

Key features

• Full-service payroll API with tax filing
• Embeddable white-label UI Components
• Money transmitter licenses in all 50 states + DC
• W-2, 1099, and multi-EIN support
• Off-cycle, bonus, and prorated runs
• Non-profit and agricultural payroll support