The Instant Payments Podcast is your go-to source for conversations at the intersection of innovation, payroll, and financial wellness. Hosted by payments industry veteran Tal Clark, the show explores how real-time disbursements, earned wage access, digital tipping, and modern payment technology are reshaping the way America gets paid. Each episode features thought leaders, operators, and innovators who are advancing how workers access and manage their money. Whether you're a business leader, payroll provider, or fintech pro, this show delivers valuable perspectives on the future of payments.
Ep 16 Part 2: Using AI to Create Financial Wellness Tools for Underserved Audiences
Tal Clark continues the conversation with Amir Hemmat about Welcome Tech’s benefits and recruiting tools for hourly and frontline workforces. Hemmat says recruitment, payment, and retention should be addressed together as a one-stop solution, especially amid labor shortages and rising competition. He explains Welcome Tech’s platform reaches nearly five million workers directly and another nine million via community locations, consulates, and embassies, enabling employers to connect with hard-to-reach talent. Welcome Tech offers household-focused benefits, including 24/7 multilingual telemedicine, diagnostics, mental health support, dental, vision networks, plus financial services and education, delivering broad access for about $25 per household. They discuss employer trust and communication, and how AI—enabled by distribution and data—improves matching, interview screening, and personalized training.
00:00 Welcome Back and Guest Intro
00:18 Why This Partnership Matters
03:01 What Welcome Tech Does
05:10 Benefits Breakdown Healthcare and More
09:04 Driving Awareness and Enrollment
11:36 AI Opportunities for Frontline Work
14:19 How Welcome Uses AI Today
16:31 Rapid Fire Questions
18:28 Closing and Where to Learn More
Instant Financial: instant.co (http://instant.co)
Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/)
Connect with Amir Hemmat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirhemmat/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirhemmat/)
References:
Welcome Tech: https://welcome.tech/ (https://welcome.tech/)
Instant’s Financial Wellness Program: https://www.instant.co/financial-wellness/ (https://www.instant.co/financial-wellness/)
Check out all episodes of the Instant Payments Podcast: https://www.instant.co/podcast (https://www.instant.co/podcast)
23 Sept 2026
Ep 16 Part 1: Simplifying Financial Wellness for Frontline and Immigrant Workers
Host Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, welcomes Amir Hemmat, co-founder and CEO of Welcome Tech, an AI-powered workforce and financial wellness platform serving more than 4.5 million immigrant and frontline workers. Amir shares his background as a first-generation immigrant, his early path through medicine, healthcare policy work in the California State Senate, and prior immigrant education media venture, leading to his focus on closing access and information gaps. They discuss why financial and essential service systems are overly complex and often not built for this workforce, contributing to lack of adoption, unbanked challenges, and employer turnover and retention issues. Amir highlights healthcare access as a key example and frames financial wellness as starting with employment and pay access, then extending to services like healthcare, housing, and transportation, enabled by more personalized technology.
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast
00:37 Meet Amir Hemmat
01:46 Amir’s Origin Story
04:22 Employer Worker Disconnect
06:53 Why Access Is Fragmented
09:18 Healthcare as a Case Study
11:20 Defining Financial Wellness
13:12 Culture and Personalization
14:31 Part Two and Wrap Up
Instant Financial: instant.co (http://instant.co)
Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/)
Connect with Amir Hemmat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirhemmat/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirhemmat/)
References:
Welcome Tech: https://welcome.tech/ (https://welcome.tech/)
Instant’s Financial Wellness Program: https://www.instant.co/financial-wellness/ (https://www.instant.co/financial-wellness/)
Check out all episodes of the Instant Payments Podcast: https://www.instant.co/podcast (https://www.instant.co/podcast)
9 Sept 2026
Ep 15 Part 2: Instant Tip Payouts, Automated Tip-Outs, and the Four-Day Workweek for Aloha Hospitality's Employees
Host Tal Clark, the CEO of Instant Financial, continues his conversation with Spencer Baumhower, the President of Aloha Hospitality, about adopting Instant to digitize nightly tip payouts, citing over $30M and 300,000 tip payments processed. Spencer explains how the move away from cash improved security, solved cash shortfalls as credit card sales grew, eliminated petty-cash replenishment, and gave employees faster access and flexibility. He describes newer integrations that automatically calculate and distribute tip-outs to bussers and bartenders, removing manual tip logs. Spencer also details Aloha’s four-day workweek for store managers, tested and rolled out company-wide to most locations as an earned reward, improving coverage, service, and leadership retention. The discussion covers inflation and value-focused pricing, Aloha’s affordable menu strategy, recent and planned expansion in Alabama, and brief rapid-fire questions including faith routines and college football expectations.
00:00 Welcome Back and Setup
00:56 Why Instant Tip Payouts
02:41 Automating Tip Calculations
04:23 Four Day Workweek Origins
06:13 How the Program Works
08:39 Store Rivalries and Expansion
09:47 Running Restaurants Today
11:30 Value Pricing Strategy
15:38 Growth Plans Ahead
17:12 Rapid Fire Round
18:27 College Football Outlook
19:45 Closing and Where to Follow
References:
Aloha Hospitality: https://www.alohahospitality.com/ (https://www.alohahospitality.com/)
Bob Bauhower: https://www.baumhowers.com/bob-baumhower (https://www.baumhowers.com/bob-baumhower)
Who has been a guest on Instant Payments
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Heather Heebner
Britt Landrum
Matt Umholtz
Kep Sweeney
Dr Martin Armstrong
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 15 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
29
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
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Guest appearances
Books guests
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Questions about Instant Payments
Who hosts Instant Payments?
Tal Clark host the show. Published by Tal Clark.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Instant Payments take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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