Tapcheck, a Texas-headquartered company in the on-demand pay industry, has secured $225 million in combined equity and debt financing. This includes a $25 million Series A extension led by existing investor PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm based in New York City and San Mateo, and a $200 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital, a global alternative asset manager. This round marks a major milestone, reinforcing investor confidence in Tapcheck’s mission and market potential.
Talking to TFN, Tapcheck said: “This funding round will support the continued development of Tapcheck’s newest product, designed to give millions of employees early access to their wages. It will also enhance the accessibility of Tapcheck’s Mastercard offering and accelerate the expansion of its AI capabilities. Through these advancements, Tapcheck aims to solidify its position as a leader in the next generation of earned wage access solutions.” However, Tapcheck did not disclose the valuation.
Husband-wife duo’s approach to address EWA challenge
Tapcheck was founded in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Ron Gaver and Kayling Gaver. Tapcheck stated: “Ron’s early career began in Israel. After moving to Los Angeles in 2004, he transitioned into the real estate market, where he gained insights into complex financial transactions and the economic pressures that impact a diverse workforce. Kayling began her career specialising in payroll technology, particularly honing her skills in systems integrations. With 18 years of operational experience at one of the country’s top HR and payroll development firms, she became an expert in creating seamless connections between diverse HR and payroll systems. Her expertise has been crucial in efficiently managing large workforce systems.”
Speaking to TFN about their backgrounds, the Tapcheck founding team said: They are going on their 17 years as co-founders, and Tapcheck marks their third successful venture together. During the process of expanding their previous business to over $30 million in ARR, they encountered significant challenges with employee payroll firsthand.”
They added, “Before founding Tapcheck, Ron and Kayling built multiple businesses across various industries and real estate development, where they successfully led large-scale projects that blended innovation with financial strategy. Ron is a 2x founder and GTM expert and Kayling is a product expert and has 20+ years in payroll technology.”
How was the idea born?
Employee financial insecurity is a major concern, costing businesses around $500 billion each year due to factors like increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and higher turnover rates. Currently, a staggering 77% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and 74% express a desire for access to their wages before payday; however, only 6% have this option available. Tapcheck offers a solution by allowing employees to access their earned wages prior to payday, effectively easing financial pressures. This not only improves employee morale, retention, and productivity but also facilitates a more equitable and inclusive work environment by reducing frictions between employers and employees.
The Tapcheck team further added, “The concept for Tapcheck arose from Ron and Kayling’s firsthand experiences with payroll management in their previous businesses. They were keenly aware of the financial challenges posed by traditional pay cycles, and this inspired them to explore a solution. During a dinner gathering with friends and family, the conversation naturally drifted towards the topic of financial stress experienced by workers between pay periods. Drawing from their experiences managing large teams and grappling with manual pay advances and high turnover rates, Ron and Kayling envisioned a new approach. That evening, over dinner, the idea of Tapcheck was conceived—a platform aimed at providing employees with access to their earned wages without having to wait for the traditional payday.”
What does Tapcheck do?
Tapcheck enables employees to access their earned wages before payday, giving them the flexibility to manage their finances without waiting for a fixed pay date. Offered at no cost to employers, the platform integrates with nearly 300 payroll and timekeeping systems, ensuring accurate, real-time wage calculations. The service helps workers avoid late fees, payday loans, and financial stress, while employers benefit from increased retention and morale.
According to company data, employers using Tapcheck report a 50% improvement in employee retention, and 70% of workers say it reduces their financial stress.
With over $1 billion in early wage funding facilitated and 12,000 employer locations served, Tapcheck has made a profound impact in sectors like hospitality, fitness, healthcare, and quick-service restaurants (QSRs). It partners with well-known brands such as Hilton, Taco Bell, Planet Fitness, and Jiffy Lube. One standout achievement includes serving 112,000 McDonald’s employees and disbursing over $160 million in advance wages. The company also supports hundreds of thousands of caregivers in skilled nursing and home health sectors, underscoring its broad and meaningful reach.
What makes Tapcheck unique?
Detailing on what makes it stand out, Tapcheck said: “The traditional options are expensive (400% average annual interest) and the existing EWA solutions are painful (only deliver the bare minimum in terms of customer service, employer and employee suffer in user experience, native and direct integrations are a must-have, not nice to have). What truly sets Tapcheck apart is the founding team’s empathy-driven design, born from lived experience. Ron and Kayling didn’t just build another fintech tool. They built a platform that solves a deeply personal and systemic issue. Their approach to native integrations, real-time transfers, and white-glove customer service creates a seamless, scalable solution that benefits both employees and employers.”
What’s next?
Tapcheck is more than just a wage access tool; it’s a financial wellness platform reshaping how people think about work and money. With strong backing from institutional investors, a proven leadership team, and a tech-driven roadmap, Tapcheck is poised to further disrupt traditional payroll models. Its thoughtful balance of employee benefit and employer control makes it one of the most trusted EWA solutions globally—earning its reputation as a true game-changer in workplace financial access.
“We’re thrilled to have the continued support of PeakSpan Capital and the strategic backing of Victory Park Capital,” said Ron Gaver, co-founder and CEO of Tapcheck. “This infusion of capital will further strengthen our capacity to empower employees nationwide and alleviate financial pressure by granting access to earned wages ahead of traditional pay schedules.”
“We are fired up to embark on this next chapter alongside Tapcheck,” said Jack Freeman, partner at PeakSpan Capital. “Over the last three years, we’ve witnessed Ron and Kayling assemble a world class team, build game changing products and amplify reach through growing by over 20x. They’ve done so while tripling down on user experience, payroll accuracy, integrations and onboarding, Tapcheck’s standout strengths, enabling the business to drive maximum value to the end user wage worker.”
“Tapcheck is setting a new standard for how employees access and manage their earnings,” said Jason Brown, senior partner at Victory Park Capital. “By addressing real financial needs while driving retention and performance for employers, Tapcheck is delivering measurable value and we have strong confidence in the company’s leadership, model, and mission.”
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