Upward Financial

Upward co-founders Danielle Hill and Aaron Gregory at the New York Stock Exchange

Danielle Hill & Aaron Gregory — co-founders

Our story

Built by operators who lived the problem.

Upward was founded in 2021 by Aaron Gregory and Danielle Hill — early Remitly leaders who saw firsthand how hard it is to build financial products for nontraditional users. Aaron was Remitly's general counsel through its 2021 IPO; Danielle ran global operations.

At Remitly they had to build everything themselves, because nothing off-the-shelf fit their users. Most startups can't afford that. To build the infrastructure that lets any platform launch banking, cards, and payments in weeks, not years, they teamed up with Chris Hasz — a former Amazon and SAP engineer who specialized in financial products.

Today the Seattle-based team powers instant pay, money management, and payouts for partners like TipHaus, Grow, Scout, and Arro.

“

The real innovation in fintech isn't faster payments or flashier cards — it's being able to offer products tailored to specific user problem.

Aaron Gregory — Co-Founder & CEO

Leadership

The team behind Upward.

Aaron Gregory

Co-Founder & CEO

General Counsel @ Remitly through its IPO. Recognized fintech & payments expert.

Previously

RemitlySmartSenseDentons

Danielle Hill

Co-Founder & COO

COO at The Riveter. Led Risk & Customer Success at Remitly.

Previously

RemitlyAmazonThe Riveter

Chris Hasz

Co-Founder & CTO

Built enterprise-grade financial products at SAP. Engineering leader at Amazon.

Previously

SAPAmazon

What we believe

Our values.

Our culture isn't words on a wall. It's a shared commitment to great people solving meaningful problems together — living out our values in every action and interaction.

Succeed Together

Our success is only possible when our business, our customers, and our users are better off because we exist. We prioritize achieving that result in all we do.

Human First

Our team, customers, and users are all people first. We value each other as whole people with unique perspectives that make us collectively stronger. We pick each other up on good days and bad — and support each other through family and personal situations. We have fun and celebrate success.

Make an Impact

We seek to maximize the value we deliver to our customers. To do this, we plan, prioritize, and optimize all of our work through the lens of what creates the greatest impact. We make commitments and deliver.

Debate & Decide

Disciplined debate leads to better decisions and clear goals. We share context and allow the best ideas to rise to the top. We get the right people in the room and are clear on decision-making and ownership. We openly voice opinions and disagreements, but once a decision is made, we all commit.

Straightforward

We communicate clearly and directly. We are open and candid with each other. We listen actively and seek first to understand. Honesty and integrity are not negotiable.

Progress Over Perfection

We get 1% better every day. We constantly ask ‘what can we do today to move forward?’ and take concrete steps to make progress. We are data informed, but OK deciding in uncertainty. Taking risks and moving fast means things will fail — we value experimentation and learning over flawless execution.

Radically Proactive

We commit to a shared vision of success and then challenge ourselves to exceed those expectations. If we get “stuck,” we proactively unblock ourselves by proposing solutions and taking decisive action over awaiting permission.

Embrace the Challenge

Changing the status quo means solving hard problems. This challenge gives us the rare privilege to live fearlessly, stay curious, experiment, learn, and grow.

Upward makes it easy to launch world-class fintech.

Built by operators who lived the problem.

The team behind Upward.

Our values.

Succeed Together

Human First

Make an Impact

Debate & Decide

Straightforward

Progress Over Perfection

Radically Proactive

Embrace the Challenge

A strategic partnership with Mastercard

Upward in the News

Let's build what's next.