Dallas-based Pay With Spire, Inc., a modern pay-by-bank solution for everyday spend, has announced a $10 million Series B fundraising round led by Continental Investment Partners, with participation from additional investors. Along with the announcement, Spire introduced its new CEO, Jennifer LaClair. 

With more than two decades of experience across some of the largest banking, payments, and fintech companies, LaClair is joining Spire “at a pivotal phase of growth” for the company and the payments industry, Spire said.

The company said that under LaClair’s leadership, the $10 million in new funding will be used to drive client growth and further scale company infrastructure that will expand Pay-by-Bank access to both merchants and consumers. It will also help Spire “redefine how people pay and earn rewards.”

“I’m honored to step into this role during such a pivotal time for Spire; there is clearly a surging demand from merchants and consumers for a cost effective and frictionless in-store pay-by-bank solution,” LaClair said in a statement.

LaClair said Spire is making everyday spending “seamless, secure, low-cost, and rewarding for both merchants and consumers.” With new investment, she said Spire “can expand and scale our industry leading platform across verticals.”

‘Redefining the future of payments’

Paul Purcell, a Spire board member and the head of growth capital at Continental Investment Partners, said Spire “is redefining the future of payments for everyday spend, and that’s why we’re excited to lead this financing.”

“Spire is an innovative company with a strong history of delivering exceptional value for the payments industry,” he added in a statement. “With this investment and the onboarding of Jennifer as CEO, we’re confident Spire will set the standard for pay-by-bank adoption as open banking in the U.S. takes hold.”

LaClair previously worked at Fiserv, where she served as head of merchant solutions, managing global payment solutions for over 1,000 enterprise merchants and 2 million small business merchants.

Before Fiserv, LaClair was the CFO of Ally Financial, the largest digital only bank and large retail lender. She also spent 10 years at PNC Financial Services, holding multiple business and finance leadership roles—including head of PNC’s Business Bank—where she played a central role in merchant strategy and managing its joint venture with Fiserv, Spire said.

Aiming for its next chapter of “hyper-growth,” Spire said Matt Brennan will leverage his deep payments experience and expertise, assuming a new role as the company’s president and chief commercial officer of Spire.

More about Spire

Spire says its solution makes pay-by-bank a reality for everyday spend at retail, clothing stores, home improvement, grocers, specialty coffee shops, quick service restaurants, gas stations, and convenience stores. The company says it’s the only provider offering pay-by-bank over credit card rails, enabling low-cost payments at over 200,000 terminals with no POS integration needed and credit card-like settlement. Merchants gain near-universal acceptance, enhanced security, and actionable data to drive loyalty and growth, Spire says, while “significantly reducing payment costs and saving millions” that can be passed directly on to consumers.

In turn, Spire says consumers using its solution enjoy a fast, familiar checkout experience at the point of sale through app, physical card, or digital payments, along with access to exclusive savings and deals.