Cross River Parent Agrees to Acquire Accrue Wallet Firm

CRB Group, Inc., the parent of Cross River Bank, said Oct. 20 it had agreed to acquire Accrue Money, Inc., bringing merchant wallet technology into the same corporate group as its banking services.

Accrue Balance lets customers add money by bank transfer or card and spend it with a participating merchant. A balance can combine deposited funds, rewards and returns. Cross River Bank holds the funds, while Accrue provides technology merchants can use on their websites and apps. Cross River Bank also issues Accrue’s Visa cards.

The proposed acquisition would bring Accrue’s wallet technology into the group that already provides banking services for Accrue Balance. Accrue’s team is expected to join Cross River after the deal closes. Accrue founder and CEO Michael Hershfield is expected to help build Cross River’s embedded finance offerings.

“Payments and loyalty are becoming one,” said Cross River founder and CEO Gilles Gade. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions. No purchase price or expected closing date was announced.