Backpack
“Can a vertical payments platform replace paper checks across every higher-education money-movement flow?”
Founded2023
HQNew York, NY, United States
Total raised$12M
Latest roundEarly Stage VC
IndustryVertical SaaS / Higher Education Payments
The story
Backpack Payment Technologies (backpackpay.com) is a NYC-based fintech founded in 2023 targeting a narrow vertical: eliminating paper checks in higher-education payment flows (529 disbursements, scholarships, third-party billing, refunds). It sits between universities, scholarship providers, and public-sector agencies with purpose-built payment infrastructure — a 'Paper Check Zero' thesis. Banking is delivered via OMB Bank as the FDIC-insured issuer.
Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2023
Backpack Payment Technologies Inc. founded in New York to eliminate paper checks from higher-education payments.· founding
2026
Confirmed banking partnership with OMB Bank (Old Missouri Bank) for FDIC-insured checking accounts used to accept 529 funds.· banking
The stack
3 layers disclosed in Backpack’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Sponsor bank
in the full report
Accounting gap: none
2 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.