Chime acquires Salt Labs to create employer-focused business unit

Chime acquired Salt Labs to accelerate Chime’s growth through the employer channel.

Salt Labs, an enterprise technology company whose core product is employee rewards programs, will use its resources to help Chime attract new members to its banking services platform, the companies announced in a press release on Wednesday.

“Through this acquisition, we aim to partner directly with employers to reach millions of consumers and introduce them to the Chime platform,” Chime Chief Operating Officer Mark Troughton said in the release. “We look forward to leveraging Salt Labs’ existing relationships with employers and building on the Chime MyPay earned wage access platform to further serve the needs of the public.”

Along with its product, Chime will have immediate access to the enterprise customer relationships Salt Labs has built across a variety of industries, including transportation, call centers, hospitality and parking services, according to the release.

As part of the acquisition, the Salt Labs team, led by company founder Jason Lee, will join Chime, according to a press release.

Additionally, according to the release, Chime is launching a new entity called Chime Enterprise, which will be led by Lee and focused on accelerating Chime’s growth through the employer channel beyond Salt Labs’ products.

“We have always believed that economic progress starts with employment and should be centered around key financial accounts,” Lee said in the release. “I am excited to be part of Chime’s next phase of growth and to build Chime Enterprises alongside Chime’s incredible team.”

Chime said in May that it had opened a waiting list for MyPay and would soon add earned wages access to its banking app.

With MyPay, eligible Chime members can access between $20 and $500 of their paycheck before payday each pay period, view the advance amount available through MyPay within their Chime checking account within the Chime app, and choose to have the funds deposited into their Chime checking account within two days for free or receive the funds instantly for a $2 fee, the company announced in a press release at the time.

“The biweekly payroll cycle is outdated and people need a better way to access their money between paydays,” Chime CEO and co-founder Chris Britt said in a release.