“Can a company win the infrastructure layer for embedded finance by providing direct, bare-metal banking APIs with maximum transparency and control rather than abstracting away complexity?”
Increase is a banking infrastructure company that positions itself as a 'bare-metal' API layer connecting technology companies directly to the Federal Reserve, Visa, and other financial networks. Rather than abstracting complexity, Increase exposes the full power of underlying rails to give fintech builders unfiltered access, predictable timing, and maximum control over payment flows. The company serves both fintech builders (like Check) and enterprises that require transparent, high-visibility banking infrastructure.
Increase discloses Blue Ridge Bank (sponsor) as its banking provider, with Blue Ridge Bank / First Internet Bank as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Increase does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Blue Ridge Bank / First Internet Bank.
Increase moves money over ACH, RTP, Visa Direct, Mastercard Send, Wire and Push-to-card.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Increase's stack: Money movement (ACH, RTP, Visa Direct, Mastercard Send and 2 others); Banking / BaaS (Blue Ridge Bank (sponsor)); Sponsor bank (Blue Ridge Bank / First Internet Bank); Transaction enrichment (Spade).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Increase and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.