Nivelo

High-Level Overview

Nivelo is a fintech startup founded in 2020 that builds risk infrastructure for secure, frictionless digital payments, specializing in electronic account-to-account methods like ACH with an initial focus on payroll.[1][2][5] It serves payment service providers (PSPs), professional employer organizations (PEOs), payroll originators, third-party senders, and businesses in labor marketplaces, solving fraud, returns (e.g., NSFs), and risk visibility issues that slow money movement and amplify losses in real-time payments.[1][2][4] Nivelo's APIs deliver AI-driven risk assessment, automated returns management, NSF prevention, auto-routing across payment rails (ACH, Wires, RTP, FedNow), and integrations with HCM systems and banks, enabling faster payroll and treasury efficiency for high-volume operations.[1][4]

The company, with under 25 employees and revenue below $5 million, has raised over $3 million in funding and operates from offices in New York and Berkeley, California, positioning it as an early-stage player disrupting payroll payments in a $20 trillion legacy infrastructure.[1][3][5]

Origin Story

Nivelo emerged in 2020 from New York amid the rise of digital payments, founded to address "missing risk infrastructure in labor marketplaces" that leaves earned funds inaccessible due to fraud and data silos.[2][5] The idea stemmed from asymmetries in risk information access, where faster solutions like same-day ACH, RTP, and digital wallets amplify fraud exposure without equalized data sharing—prompting Nivelo's mission to democratize risk visibility while preserving privacy.[2]

Pivotal early focus targeted payroll, the "most common and most important payment for most people," betting on real-time digital payments to reinvent paycheck delivery despite 50-year-old infrastructure barriers.[3] With machine learning-based adaptive threat detection, Nivelo gained traction by automating manual workflows for scaling payment companies, evolving from general digital security to payroll-specific tools like Exposure Scan and Scorer Engine.[1][4][5]

Core Differentiators

• AI-Powered Risk Engine: Real-time Scorer Engine uses machine learning for adaptive threat detection, predicting ACH returns with scores (e.g., 88.61) and enabling instant debits to eliminate 100% of NSFs, outperforming manual processes.[1][4][5]
• Automation and Integrations: RESTful APIs integrate seamlessly with HCM, banks, and payment rails (ACH, Wires, RTP, FedNow) for auto-routing, returns management, KYB/fraud monitoring, and whitelabel notifications—reducing manual workflows and time-to-money.[4]
• Payroll-Specific Focus: Tailored for PSPs/PEOs with NSF prevention, early fraud alerts, and treasury tools, unlocking efficiencies in high-volume operations while ensuring 24/7 support.[2][4]
• Security and Compliance: Certified compliant (e.g., audited standards) with a commitment to privacy-preserving data sharing, positioning it as a secure OS for payroll payments.[2][4]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Nivelo rides the real-time payments wave—fueled by RTP, FedNow, and same-day ACH—where market forces like digital wallet adoption and open finance demand fraud-resistant infrastructure amid rising transaction volumes.[2][3] Timing is ideal: legacy $20 trillion systems built 50 years ago struggle with amplified fraud in labor marketplaces and payroll, where risk blocks instantaneous money movement for millions.[2][3]

By providing democratized risk data via APIs, Nivelo influences the ecosystem, enabling ASOs/PEOs to scale payroll securely, reduce cash losses, and boost sales through lower attrition—pushing "finops efficiency" in a fraud-plagued shift to frictionless digital experiences.[2][4]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Nivelo is poised to expand beyond payroll into broader A2A payments, leveraging its ML models refined on customer data for higher accuracy in threat detection amid growing RTP/FedNow adoption.[4][5] Trends like AI orchestration and privacy-focused data sharing will shape its growth, potentially capturing more of the payroll market as regulators prioritize secure instant payments.

As risk remains the top blocker to fast money movement, Nivelo's infrastructure could redefine secure access to earned funds, amplifying its disruption of outdated systems for businesses and workers alike.[2][3]