Column
Also a provider — view Column’s profile →“Can a bank-as-software company replace the entire BaaS middleware layer by owning both the national bank charter and the developer API?”
Column was founded in 2021 by ex-Plaid co-founder William Hockey and Annie Hockey after acquiring a small nationally chartered bank (Northern California National Bank). The thesis: eliminate the middleware layer between fintechs and banks by being both the bank AND the software company. Unlike Unit, Synctera, or Treasury Prime (which sit on top of partner banks), Column holds its own OCC national bank charter and connects directly to the Federal Reserve. In 2025 they expanded from pure banking/payments infrastructure into a full-stack credit platform — originating loans, providing capital, and integrating credit with payments/deposits/cards.