Hey, it's Ansel, co-founder @ Finch. I can't speak for the horizontal platforms mentioned here since they have a very different approach/goals than we do.
TL;DR -- People pay for Finch so they don't have to do a ton of BD to gain access to closed APIs or build non-API integrations with employment data systems.
Finch is vertically focused on the employment data ecosystem (starting with HR & payroll), so we're NOT building CRM or ticketing integrations. Our focus is depth and coverage in this super fragmented ecosystem.
Our vertical presents a few challenges that aren't solved with an open source solution:
1. Limited APIs -- Many providers don't have APIs for the detailed data required for many mission critical use cases. Often times we have agreements in place with providers that allow us to build connectivity using other methods like SFTP, report generation, etc. We have an entire product operations team supporting those methods.
2. Closed ecosystem -- Those that do have APIs, operate a closed ecosystem and require a direct agreement which may include additional payments for access. So you'll need a BD team to build a partnership and we've seen that take 12+ months for certain providers. Working with us allows you to leverage our existing relationships to gain access immediately without the blocking and tackling or additional charges.
3. Edge cases -- There are so many edge cases in these systems that require a high level of expertise to navigate and categorize. In many cases getting this data wrong results in fines for our customers. We have a continuously evolving system that categorizes and audits the data at a granular level which is then validated by in-house payroll specialists.
These problems compound with fragmentation since there are 5,700+ payroll and HR systems in the US alone and the top 10 are only cover 55% of employers. Keep in mind that none of the top 10 have open APIs and the biggest one, Intuit, doesn't even have an API at all.
Now, all that said, if you're looking for a very light amount of data from only a few systems that have APIs it may make more sense to use an open source provider.
Curious to know how Merge thinks about these open source platforms since they're the most closely competitive with them.