Jawnt is looking to take its Philadelphia-rooted name and user base nationwide with a new transit payment method.
The technology startup last week rolled out its Jawnt Pass, a commuter benefits debit card that allows users to access pre-tax dollars for transit or parking purchases across public transportation agencies nationwide.
The idea has been in the works for well over a year, according to Jawnt co-founder Will Sanderson. The Visa card is backed by banking partner Pacific West Bank and can be used anywhere that transit passes can be purchased by credit card. With employers looking for ways to bring their workers back to the office and transit providers looking to regain ridership, Jawnt wants to be the bridge between the two.
Jawnt works on a business-to-business model, making it easier for employers to roll out uniform commuter benefits programs to all of their employees. The company started in Philadelphia, bridging the gap between local employers, local transit agencies like SEPTA and NJ Transit and the new commuter benefits requirements.
Commuter benefits programs help employers set up their workers to receive discounts on transit spending in accordance with local legislation. For example, in Philadelphia, employers with 50 or more full-time employees in the city must offer a commuter benefits program. The law, which took effect at the end of 2022, allows employees to take out pre-tax money from their paycheck to set aside for transit purposes. Alternately, an employer can offer a direct benefit like a SEPTA Key Card, which allows organizations to acquire cards directly from the transit agency and distribute them to their employees.
Since its inception, Jawnt has built up an employer benefits program membership of about 100,000, primarily in Philadelphia. Now it's looking to scale nationally.
The decision to expand comes after the company heard from big businesses headquartered in Philadelphia that they "need a ubiquitous national product" and a single platform to reach all of their employees across the U.S., Sanderson said. In response, the startup created Jawnt Pass.
As an example of the commuter card's benefits as a national solution, Sanderson said he recently used his Jawnt Pass to pay for a SEPTA ride to Trenton, then to purchase an NJ Transit ticket to New York City and again for subway fare on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York.
While many large organizations and companies offer transit benefits in some form, they can be difficult for employees to find and use. Traditionally, commuter benefit cards have been lumped in with health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. As a result, such benefits often go untouched, Sanderson and Jawnt co-founder Jeff Stade said.
With the sleek orange card, employees of companies who partner with Jawnt will have their own designated transit card. Stade and Sanderson think it will advance the original mission of the startup — to get more people to ride public transit.
"That'll continue to be the goal," Sanderson said. "We really want to be good partners and good stewards of transit and want to work hand in hand with the transit agencies as they're trying to regain ridership. We'll sort of do this on both sides of the market. We want to partner with the transit agencies and work with large organizations, and this pass can do a little bit of both."
Current local employers that utilize Jawnt include the University of Pennsylvania — the city's largest employer — and the City of Philadelphia, which Jawnt worked with on its SEPTA Key Advantage Program.
Jawnt's next step is to sell its product to employers in cities similar in size to Philadelphia with downtown employment and transit hubs. That might include places like Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle or San Francisco.
The company will also look to use the data it collects from where Jawnt Pass is tapped to provide better insights to transit agencies to inform their operations and identify opportunities to better serve riders.
"Being the sort of connector between transit providers and employers, we think can be really valuable," Sanderson said.
