ATB Financial is partnering with a Toronto-based fintech firm to launch a new feature.
The venerable Alberta bank announced this week that it is working with 2025 startup-to-watch Nmbr, a dedicated embedded payroll software provider, to launch “ATB Payroll.”
The collaboration marks the first time a financial institution has partnered with a payroll infrastructure provider in Canada, according to a statement from the firms, allowing ATB’s small business clients to run payroll directly from their business banking portal.
“Payroll has long been one of the biggest pain points for small businesses,” suggests Simon Bourgeois, chief executive officer of Nmbr.
For many small and rural businesses, payroll remains complex and manual.
Bourgeois, alongside Drew Millington and Kevin Langlois, launched Nmbr in 2023 to address this pain point.
“Our mission is to make payroll frictionless,” Bourgeois says, “embedding it in the platforms where business owners already do their work.”
By embedding payroll directly into ATB’s digital banking experience, “we’re giving Alberta’s entrepreneurs back valuable time and control, while helping the bank deliver real innovation to its customers,” the Canadian fintech entrepreneur stated.
The integration combines ATB’s deep financial infrastructure with Nmbr’s modern payroll APIs, bridging compliance and convenience, according to Azim Esmail, who serves ATB Ventures as Associate Vice President.
“At ATB, we are constantly seeking new innovations to better support and empower Alberta businesses,” Esmail stated. “Developing and launching tools that simplify critical operations for our clients is a powerful example of how we can use innovation to help them grow and thrive.”
Currently in a pilot phase with a group of early customers, ATB plans to roll out the new payroll feature to more clients in 2026.
ATB employs over 5,000 people who manage more than $100 billion in total assets across 843,000 clients.
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