The Future of Financial Connectivity: Why Mercato Led Atomic’s $40M Series B

Think back to the last time you started a new job. Whether it was your first or fifteenth time going through the new hire onboarding process, it was most certainly riddled with paperwork. From setting up direct deposit to benefits management to employment verification, just the act of starting a job is…well, a job. This lengthy, tedious, and prone-to-error process is in large part due to the lack of interoperability of legacy payroll and benefit providers, and to be speak plainly—it isn’t working. Atomic is changing that.

Founded in 2019, Atomic Financial serves as an essential API bridge between consumer data and financial solutions by allowing unparalleled access to payroll, HRIS systems, and merchants. This connectivity empowers and enables employees to not only decide when, how, and with whom their data is shared, but to seamlessly access their own financial data at will. That means consumers don’t have to worry about their banking credentials being shared with a third party, or the friction and fraud risk associated with employment and income verification. It also means they can easily manage direct deposits, subscriptions, and bill payments, and even unlock year-round tax refunds.

Known as open banking, this framework provides permissioned access to customers’ data in order to provide innovative, and more transparent and inclusive financial products and services—and it is ushering in a transformation of the American banking landscape. By shifting the paradigm, open banking is demystifying the once opaque operations of the banking industry, providing customers with enhanced control over their financial data.

Open banking isn’t just a value proposition for consumers, however. For employers, it means streamlined operations, and for financial institutions, it means rich data points on their customers. Atomic, specifically, delivers on both of these fronts through a combination of its EmployerLink and PayLink products.

Our goal is to build a fintech infrastructure that enables a new generation of bank accounts and transforms banking applications into consumer-centric platforms.

– Jordan Wright, CEO

EmployerLink, a scalable solutions suite for human resource administrators, delivers companies a connectivity solution that enables real time access to payroll and HRIS systems, resulting in the delivery of best-in-class financial wellness benefits and performance management, and streamlined commission and compensation payouts. In conjunction with its UserLink product, the addition of Employerlink made Atomic a first-to-market provider of both consumer and business connectivity solutions.

Atomic’s newest product, Paylink, further expands this interconnected financial ecosystem to both the traditional and neo banking industries. This unified solution accelerates account primacy by allowing financial institutions an unparalleled opportunity to dive deeper into their customers’ financial behaviors and preferences while facilitating frictionless, user-permissioned access to merchant accounts, streaming services, and recurring bill payment switching. As a whole, the product represents a shift in the power dynamic of retail banking from the institution to the individual.

This shift is central to Atomic’s core belief that data has the power to unlock new financial opportunities for consumers. By enabling and promoting a more open banking system, and empowering millions of Americans to take control of their financial data to improve their own financial outcomes, Atomic is, undoubtedly, building better.