Instant Payments

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.

Instant Payments is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 23 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Instant Payments, a business show with 23 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #23

  Ep 14 Part 2: Guardrails, Costs, and Real ROI: Practical AI in Restaurant Operations

  Jul 29, 202623 minS1

  Host Tal Clark continues a conversation with restaurant technology leader Marcus Wasdin about AI in restaurants, including lessons from launching Par’s Coach AI to let operators ask natural-language questions across data sources, such as optimizing operating hours for profit. Wasdin discusses the need to minimize AI “hallucinations” with guardrails while keeping the product usable. They examine drive-thru voice AI challenges: high costs from token usage, common “human-in-the-loop” call centers due to imperfect accuracy, and menu-language semantics. Wasden argues AI will shift repetitive tasks off employees to improve guest experience, with success coming largely from revenue gains; he suggests using local marketing funds to offset costs and enable consistent upselling. He advises CEOs to pursue small, outcome-based AI wins before scaling, and shares PE evaluation themes, leadership principles, and excitement for measurable AI outcomes by 2026. 00:00 Welcome Back and Setup 00:32 Coach AI Origins 02:00 Guardrails and Hallucinations 03:23 Consistency Challenges 04:26 Drive Thru Voice AI Costs 07:26 Menu Semantics Pitfalls 08:16 Jobs and Guest Experience 10:09 Funding and Upsell Ideas 13:33 CEO AI Playbook 16:03 Private Equity Priorities 19:55 Rapid Fire Leadership 21:03 Chick Fil A Admiration 21:56 AI Hopes for 2026 22:45 Closing and Where to Follow Instant Financial: instant.co Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Marcus Wasdin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcuswasdin/ References: The Wasdin Company: www.wasdincompany.com Par Technology: https://partech.com/ Whataburger: https://whataburger.com/home Chick-fil-A: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/

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  Episode #22

  Ep 14 Part 1: AI in the Restaurant Industry: Hype or Helpful?

  Jul 15, 202622 minS1

  Host Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, interviews Marcus Wasdin, founder of the Wasdin Company, about restaurant transformation and AI adoption. Wasdin recounts entering restaurants through Church’s Chicken, serving as the Atlanta Hawks’ first CIO during a $200M arena renovation that led to top NBA guest experience ratings, and later running a restaurant tech business line before moving into advisory work. They discuss how AI is driving a surge of restaurant tech solutions and potentially creating “AI fatigue,” as operators want outcomes while investors want more AI operations. Key operator challenges remain food and labor costs, talent attraction/retention, and driving traffic amid rising check averages. Wasdin explains the AI adoption cycle in restaurants today, citing costly drive-through voice AI and mixed in-restaurant adoption of natural-language analytics tools. 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 00:37 Meet Marcus Wasdin 02:08 Career Origins in Restaurants 03:01 Atlanta Hawks Tech Turnaround 03:54 Three Lenses on Hospitality 06:20 AI Boom and Tool Fragmentation 09:58 Operator Pain Points Today 12:03 Why POS and HCM Changes Win 16:48 AI Reality Check and Use Cases 21:26 Part Two Tease and Wrap Instant Financial: instant.co Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Marcus Wasdin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcuswasdin/ References: The Wasdin Company: www.wasdincompany.com The Atlanta Hawks: https://www.nba.com/hawks/ Par Technology: https://partech.com/ Inspire Brands: https://inspirebrands.com/ Church's Chicken: https://www.churchs.com/our-story Underserved Report: https://www.instant.co/2026-restaurant-study/ Center for Generational Kinetics: https://genhq.com/

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  Episode #21

  Ep 13 Part 2: Advancing Women Leaders and Balancing Purpose and Profit in Restaurants

  Jun 24, 202623 minS1

  Host Tal Clark continues his conversation with Melissa Doolin-Koehne of Elevate 4 about advocacy for women in restaurant leadership and building purpose alongside profit. Melissa cites industry stats showing women are about 33% of executives but only 10% of CEOs. They also talk about restaurant industry challenges. She explains that cutting training or wages may save money short term but erodes brands, urging servant leadership and care for all stakeholders, including vendors. The discussion covers employee financial wellness, earned wage access, and the importance of employee experience, including manager investment, scheduling flexibility, childcare challenges, immigration impacts, and financial education. In rapid-fire, Melissa shares leadership principles, career advice to choose leaders over brands, and excitement for more intentional operations supported by smarter tools and data. 00:00 Welcome Back and Setup 00:42 Women in Restaurant Leadership 02:13 Executive Retreat and Allies 03:51 Women CEOs and Industry Trends 05:18 Purpose and Profit Playbook 08:20 Earned Wage Access and Wellness 10:12 Culture First and Realities 14:18 Hiring Flexibility and Benefits 18:42 Rapid Fire Leadership Lessons 22:18 Closing Thanks and Where to Follow Instant Financial: instant.co Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Melissa Doolin-Koehne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-doolin-koehne/ References: Women's Foodservice Forum Conference: https://www.wff.org Women in Restaurant Leadership Conference: https://womenleadrestaurants.com/ Cracker Barrel CEO: https://investor.crackerbarrel.com/management/julie-felss-masino Whataburger CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-stroud-88149540 Habit Burger CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-hennessy-hbg Taco John's CEO: https://tacojohns.com/company/leadership/ Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey: https://a.co/d/0gXzI4tS Chick-fil-A Careers: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/careers FinFit: https://www.finfit.com/ Texas Restaurant Association: https://txrestaurant.org/ Texas Restaurant Foundation: https://www.txrestaurant.org/TRF/ Black Box Intelligence: https://blackboxintelligence.com/ Raising Cane's: https://www.raisingcanes.com/home/

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  Episode #20

  Ep 13 Part 1: Restaurant Industry Trends with Industry Leader Melissa Doolin-Koehne

  Jun 10, 202618 minS1

  Host Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, welcomes Melissa Doolin-Koehne, founder of Elevate 4 and chair of the Texas Restaurant Foundation, to discuss her restaurant-industry background and current work advising brands on purpose-driven growth. Melissa recounts being raised in the industry and launching Elevate 4. She highlights the Texas Restaurant Foundation’s ProStart Invitational, drawing 1,000+ high school competitors and offering scholarships. They discuss a “tepid” 2026 outlook amid inflation, tariffs, oil prices, and consumer trade-downs, emphasizing brand promise, value via experience, simplified operations, and employee-focused innovation starting with designing a great shift. 00:00 Welcome to the Podcast 00:40 Meet Melissa Doolin-Koehne 01:43 Melissa’s Restaurant Journey 03:12 Inside Black Box Intelligence 05:06 Texas ProStart Spotlight 07:47 Restaurant Industry Outlook 10:45 Why Some Brands Win 12:47 Employee Experience Innovation 15:02 Why Texas Leads Restaurants 17:35 Part Two Teaser and Wrap Instant Financial: instant.co Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Melissa Doolin-Koehne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-doolin-koehne/ References: Texas Restaurant Association: https://txrestaurant.org/ Texas Restaurant Foundation: https://www.txrestaurant.org/TRF/ Black Box Intelligence: https://blackboxintelligence.com/ Raising Cane's: https://www.raisingcanes.com/home/

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  Episode #3

  S2 Ep 02: Research expert Jason Dorsey shares findings from restaurant workers study

  May 27, 202628 minS2

  Host Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, interviews generational researcher and Center for Generational Kinetics president Jason Dorsey about CGK’s custom national study with Instant, “Underserved: The Financial Reality of America’s Hourly Restaurant Workers.” Jason explains the study’s Census-weighted methodology and discusses the perception gap between executives and frontline realities, noting leaders often view earned wage access (EWA) negatively while frontline managers want it. Key findings include 75% of restaurant workers living paycheck to paycheck and 61% skipping a meal in the last month due to lack of funds. They describe poor alternatives due to lack of choices such as overdraft and late fees, credit card cash advances, and payday lending, and urge leaders to read the research to understand how hourly restaurant workers are trying to navigate the economy. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:34 Jason’s Background and Intro to CGK 04:11 Study Setup and Method 07:27 Leadership Perception Gap 10:28 Most Shocking Findings 12:55 Generational Differences 16:12 Why EWA Matters 19:12 Costly Workarounds 21:28 Message to Leaders 23:49 Rapid Fire Questions 27:09 Closing and Resources Instant Financial: instant.co Center for Generational Kinetics: https://genhq.com/ Connect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Jason Dorsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondorsey/ References Free download of Underserved: The Financial Reality of America’s Hourly Restaurant Workers: https://www.instant.co/2026-restaurant-study/

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