Company
Accrue Savings created the first embedded savings solution for e-commerce, allowing consumers to save toward purchases instead of taking on debt. The platform integrates directly into retailer checkout flows as a "Save Now, Pay Later" alternative to traditional Buy Now Pay Later services.
The Challenge
60% of Americans save up for big purchases, yet the only embedded checkout option available was Buy Now Pay Later—essentially credit card debt. As a non-technical founder with a vision to flip this model on its head, Michael Hershfield had validated the market need for a debt-free alternative with three retailers ready to test and consumer studies showing strong demand, but he had no product and no engineering team to build it. Creating a banking product from scratch meant navigating fintech compliance, financial regulations, and secure integrations—complexities that would take months just to hire for, let alone build. With retail partners ready to onboard and a Christmas code freeze looming, missing the holiday shopping window would kill the momentum before the product could prove itself in the market.
The Solution
With hiring a full-time engineering team taking months he didn't have, Hershfield turned to A.Team to assemble specialized fintech talent who understood banking product intricacies. A.Team built a team of experts who could handle the regulatory complexity and compliance requirements specific to launching financial technology, not just standard software development. As retail partners expressed interest in onboarding during the build process, A.Team scaled the team to match Hershfield's aggressive timeline for market launch.
The builders delivered both the core banking technology and e-commerce integration tools needed to embed the savings experience directly into merchant checkout flows. In 10 months, they created a complete platform that integrated with multiple third-party services while maintaining the user-friendliness essential for consumer adoption. The result was a working product that launched before the critical holiday shopping season, preserving the momentum that would prove essential for fundraising.
Technologies Used
Node.js: Backend framework for the banking platform and e-commerce integrations
Firebase: Real-time data handling and user authentication
DevOps: Deployment and infrastructure management
"I have to give A.Team a lot of credit. When they built the initial team and then expanded my team to go to market, they made sure that there were people in this organization that understood the intricacies of launching a banking technology."
— Michael Hershfield, Founder and CEO, Accrue Savings
The Results
Accrue Savings went from concept to funded business in under a year, securing retail partnerships, raising capital at rapid speed, and achieving conversion rates that validated the market need for debt-free payment options.
Merchant Performance
Achieved 77% boost in conversion rates with abandon rate below 1% across retail partners.
Market Recognition
Won Time Magazine's Best Invention award and became embedded payment option for 35+ major merchants.
Organizational Scaling
Built recruiting and engineering capability at a speed Hershfield described as "impossible" for other companies.
Accelerated Time-to-Market
Built and launched a full zero-to-one fintech product in just 10 months.
