← State of Embedded Finance 2026

Linker Finance

“Can a modular, core-agnostic digital banking platform transform community banks' deposit growth and business onboarding without requiring a full core conversion?”

Founded2023
HQPasadena, California, United States
FoundersJorge Garcia, Alejandro Corpeno, Claudia Bardales
Total raised$3.72M
Latest roundSeed (Alloy Labs strategic investment, April 2025)
IndustryVertical SaaS / Community Banking
The story

Founded in 2023, Linker Finance entered the market as a modular digital banking and CRM platform purpose-built for U.S. community banks — specifically targeting deposit growth, business onboarding, and retail banking modernization without requiring core conversions. The company has positioned itself as infrastructure middleware that connects to legacy cores (Fiserv, Jack Henry, FIS) rather than replacing them. In 2026, Linker operationalized its own thesis by powering Always.bank, a consumer-facing digital-first bank built on its own platform, demonstrating both product maturity and a reference-architecture use case.

Last 12 months
2025-04
2025-05
2026-05
Product timeline
2023
Founded in Pasadena, CA by Jorge Garcia, Claudia Bardales, and Alejandro Corpeno as a modular digital banking and CRM platform for community banks.· banking
2024
Launched digital account opening, business onboarding, and Linker 360 CRM products integrated with legacy cores (Fiserv, Jack Henry, FIS).· banking
2025
Alloy Labs (consortium of 80+ community banks) joined as a strategic investor, validating the platform's community bank focus.· banking
2025
Partnered with Sardine for fraud detection and AML protection for community bank customers.· banking
2026
Launched Always.bank, a digital-first community bank offering nationwide high-yield savings and CDs built on Linker's modular platform.· banking
The stack
Accounting gap: none