Stream to acquire Salary Finance

Workplace finance platform Stream has agreed to acquire Salary Finance in a deal that will create a combined business reaching 5.5 million UK workers.

The acquisition brings together two of the UK’s established workplace financial wellbeing providers, significantly increasing Stream’s reach across employers and expanding the range of financial tools available to employees through the workplace.

Stream currently provides financial wellbeing services to four million workers through 2,000 employers globally, while Salary Finance works with around 500 employers and reaches more than 3.5 million employees, including around a fifth of the FTSE 100.

Stream’s platform includes earnings tracking, budgeting, coaching, savings, flexible pay, pensions and loans, while Salary Finance provides responsible workplace finance, payroll savings and other financial wellbeing tools.

The combined business plans to increase investment in research and development, with future workplace finance products expected to include ISAs, investments, insurance and payments.

It also expects the integration to simplify administration for employers by streamlining payroll reconciliation and reducing some of the work involved in managing financial benefits.

Peter Briffett and Portman Wills, Stream co-founders, said: “We built Stream to give every worker access to fair financial tools. Since 2018, we have grown from a flexible pay product into a platform that reaches four million workers – helping people save, borrow, budget and plan, all through their employer. 

“The combination with Salary Finance is the next step on our journey as a UK fintech champion and truly global workplace finance platform. As a combined company, there will be significant opportunity to create more value for UK employers and their workers. We look forward to working with Asesh Sarkar, Daniel Shakhani, and their team to drive innovation, improve financial wellbeing and continue our journey towards sustainable, mission-led growth.”

Salary Finance currently funds around £350m in responsible workplace finance each year.

Asesh Sarkar and Daniel Shakhani, co-founders of Salary Finance, said: “Since starting Salary Finance in 2015, we have built a community of over 3.5 million employees through our partnerships with ~500 employers, and are now funding ~£350 million in responsible workplace finance every year. 

“All of this driven by a dedicated team we are hugely proud of. Joining forces with Stream brings together two sets of complementary capabilities, sharing the same mission – improving the financial lives of millions of working people. Coming together gives us an opportunity to deliver further and faster towards our combined mission, which has now become a national priority as part of the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, and provide a broader and better suite of products to our customers.”

The deal comes as employers play an increasingly important role in employees’ financial health, with workplace benefits extending beyond traditional pensions and protection towards savings, budgeting, affordable borrowing and broader financial education and support.

It also reflects the growing connection between workplace financial wellbeing and the UK’s wider financial inclusion agenda.

Both companies support the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, which identifies workplace finance as one route to improving access to fair financial products and increasing participation in workplace savings.

Stream said it has saved UK members more than £150m on financial services. Its workplace savings product has been used by 950,000 UK workers, with more than 340,000 saving for the first time.

The combined company will employ 375 people. As part of the transaction, Salary Finance co-founder and CEO Asesh Sarkar will become Stream’s UK president and remain a shareholder in the enlarged business alongside L&G and other Salary Finance shareholders.

The transaction is expected to complete in early 2027, subject to customary closing conditions including Financial Conduct Authority approval.