Background

Bartaco is a restaurant chain that combines fresh, upscale street food with a coastal vibe in a relaxed environment. They currently have 1,700 employees and expect to bring on an additional 300 employees by the end of 2022 to support their new location openings. With restaurants in 12 states and a weekly payroll cadence, paying their rapidly growing employee base is no small feat—something bartaco’s payroll manager, Scott Rodney, knows firsthand.
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Branch Features Used

Rodney wanted an instant card option that bartaco could offer to all of their employees nationwide. He also wanted a way to encourage employees to step away from paper checks, which were costing the company an inordinate amount of time, money, and stress. One of Rodney’s colleagues happened to receive an email from Branch and conversations began around how Branch could provide an easy option for instant payments that wouldn’t cost the company or their employees anything to use.

They learned that Branch could set them up quickly with Branch Cards for their employees, which also came with fee-free checking accounts for their employees to use for direct deposit. After implementing Branch, many employees did switch their direct deposit to Branch, helping Rodney make the case for reducing paper checks. And an even bigger benefit? Rodney and his team use Branch for convenient one-off payments to employees like training stipends.

“We have a lot of new restaurant openings and we bring trainers in from other states who we provide with stipends for their travel time. So instead of purchasing gift cards, we put the stipends on their Branch Cards.”

Results

Branch has proven to be an easy solution for both Rodney’s team and restaurant staff to use, with Rodney noting that it’s also come in handy for dealing with missed pay discrepancies or delivering last day pay to terminated employees. Instead of paying close to $30 to overnight a check, Rodney and his team can simply add funds to an employee’s Branch card when needed.

“If a manager forgot to clock in or something and those hours didn’t come through, we don’t want them to have to wait for their next paycheck,” Rodney says. “They can sign up for and get a Branch Card that day, and I can instantly fund it so they can have their money for rent, bills, whatever they need.”

Read the full story of bartaco's successful Branch launch here.

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