“Can a freelancer/SMB neobank become the embedded financial OS for small businesses—both directly and through partner platforms via Lili Connect?”
Founded in 2019 as a mobile banking app for US freelancers, Lili built its initial proposition around fee-free checking, tax automation (Tax Bucket), and expense management. As the SMB market expanded, Lili broadened from solo freelancers toward all small business owners, layering in accounting, invoicing, bill pay, and savings. The 2024 launch of Lili Connect marked a deliberate pivot toward becoming an embedded finance infrastructure provider, allowing partner platforms to white-label Lili's full financial stack into their own products—monetizing both direct B2C customers and B2B2C channel revenue.
Lili discloses Sunrise Banks, N.A. as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Lili does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Sunrise Banks, N.A..
Lili's cards are issued through Sunrise Banks, N.A..
Lili uses Socure for KYC and identity verification.
Lili connects to bank accounts through Plaid.
Lili uses Column Bank, N.A. for FX and cross-border payouts.
Lili integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, Shopify and Gusto.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 7 layers in Lili's stack: Banking / BaaS (Sunrise Banks, N.A.); Card issuing (Sunrise Banks, N.A.); Open banking (Plaid); KYC (Socure); Sponsor bank (Sunrise Banks, N.A.); FX & payouts (Column Bank, N.A.); Accounting (QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, Shopify and 1 other).
Lili was founded by Lilac Bar David and Liran Zelkha and is founded in 2019, headquartered in New York, NY, USA.
Lili has raised $100M+ in total (latest round: Series B, 2022).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Lili 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.