“Can a restaurant workforce+inventory platform become the financial operating system for hospitality by embedding payroll, on-demand pay, and tip payouts?”
Fourth began as two 1999-era hospitality-tech companies (Fourth in the UK, HotSchedules in the US) that merged in 2019 under Marlin Equity Partners ownership. The combined business is a restaurant/hospitality vertical SaaS spanning workforce management, HR & payroll, inventory, and analytics — with embedded finance layered in via a UK BACS payroll bureau, earned wage access via Wagestream, and a US subsidiary (Fourth Fintech Solutions, LLC) registered as an NMLS money-services entity signaling a broader fintech ambition.
Fourth uses TrustID for KYC and identity verification.
Fourth's payroll is powered by Finastra.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 2 layers in Fourth's stack: Payroll (Finastra); KYC (TrustID).
Fourth is founded in 1999 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States.
Fourth's acquisitions include HotSchedules (2019).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Fourth and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.