Cross
“Can a fully chartered bank become the dominant regulated infrastructure layer powering the entire embedded fintech ecosystem?”
Founded2008
HQFort Lee, New Jersey, USA
FoundersGilles Gade
Total raised$620M+
Latest roundSeries D equivalent, March 2022
Valuation$3B+ post-money (2022)
IndustryInfrastructure / BaaS
The story
Founded in 2008 as a community bank in New Jersey, Cross River rapidly repositioned as a technology infrastructure provider for fintechs, offering API-based embedded payments, lending, BaaS, and card services. By 2022 it powered more than 80 fintech platforms—including Affirm, Coinbase, and Stripe—acting as the regulated bank backbone behind many of the industry's largest embedded finance stacks. Its 2022 fundraise accelerated a stated 'crypto-first strategy', broadening beyond traditional BaaS into digital assets infrastructure.
Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2008
Founded by Gilles Gade as a community bank in Fort Lee, New Jersey.· banking
2010
Entered first technology partnership, beginning pivot toward fintech infrastructure.· pivot
2022
Raised $620M at $3B+ valuation, announced crypto-first strategy; powers payments and lending for Affirm, Coinbase, and Stripe.· banking
Regulated entities
National Bank Charter (FDIC-insured state-chartered bank)
US (New Jersey) · 2008
Cross River Bank
The stack
Payments / PSP
Banking / BaaS
Card issuing
Lending
Cross River Bank (in-house)Embedded lending infrastructure for platformsPeer-to-peer lending facilitationMarketplace lending (powering Affirm et al.)
FX & payouts
Crypto
Accounting gap: none