“Can Central become the financial OS for employers by embedding payroll, benefits, and investment infrastructure into a single streamlined platform?”
Central was founded in 2023 as a developer-oriented payroll and benefits platform targeting financial operations for small-to-mid-market employers. The platform integrates payroll processing, tax withholding, and employee benefits administration with embedded financial infrastructure backed by banking partners including Celtic Bank and Evolve Bank & Trust. The company appears to be building towards a full-stack embedded finance offering by layering investment (via Atomic Invest and Pershing) on top of its payroll/benefits core.
Central discloses Evolve Bank & Trust as its banking provider, with Celtic Bank as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Central does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Celtic Bank.
Central's cards are issued through Celtic Bank.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Central's stack: Banking / BaaS (Evolve Bank & Trust); Card issuing (Celtic Bank); Sponsor bank (Celtic Bank).
Central is founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Francisco, CA, USA.
Central has raised $8.6M in total (latest round: Seed).
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