Cross River to Acquire Branded-Wallet Firm Accrue, Bolstering Embedded Finance Push

Cross River Bank's parent company has agreed to acquire New York City-based branded-wallet specialist Accrue, the institutions announced Tuesday. The deal's value and timeline were not disclosed; Fort Lee, New Jersey-based Cross River said only that the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition would add customer-loyalty capabilities to the $8.5 billion-asset bank, letting users earn and track incentives as part of what it called "a complete embedded finance stack." Accrue's platform enables merchants to connect stored value, payments, rewards and customer engagement. "Payments and loyalty are becoming one," Cross River CEO Gilles Gade said in a statement. "Every brand wants its own wallet, and with Accrue, all of our clients can now build one on our platform." Accrue CEO Michael Hershfield will take on a leadership role building out Cross River's embedded finance offerings, and the Accrue team will join the bank. Accrue launched in 2021 as a save-now, buy-later platform before shifting focus.