• Increase has launched a regulated bank after acquiring and rebranding Twin City Bank
• Founder Darragh Buckley said combining banking and technology has been the company's strategy since launch
• Increase provides payments, account infrastructure and card issuing services for fintech clients
• The platform supports approximately $500 billion in annual payment processing
• The bank offers direct connections to the Federal Reserve, The Clearing House and Visa
• Buckley said the move is aimed at attracting new fintech customers rather than expanding existing relationships
• Regulators approved the acquisition in June 2025
• The launch reflects growing interest among fintech firms in owning regulated banking capabilities

Former Stripe executive Darragh Buckley has taken a significant step toward reshaping the relationship between banks and financial technology firms by combining a regulated bank with the technology platform he founded six years ago.

Through the acquisition and rebranding of a small Washington-based lender, Increase now aims to position itself as a banking partner built specifically for technology companies operating in payments and financial infrastructure.

Buckley acquired Twin City Bancorp, the holding company of Twin City Bank in Longview, Washington, approximately one year ago before securing regulatory approval to rename the institution Increase Bank and implement its revised business strategy.

While the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the move marks the culmination of a strategy Buckley says has been central to the company's vision since its inception.

The launch establishes Increase as both a regulated bank and a technology company, giving it the ability to combine federally supervised banking services with the software infrastructure already used by a growing number of fintech firms.

The company provides money movement, account infrastructure and card issuing services for payroll providers, neobanks, loan servicers and payment companies.

"The move was a long time coming," Buckley said, explaining that the decision was driven by the company's original strategy rather than changes in the regulatory environment.

His objective, he said, has always been to build an organization capable of combining banking capabilities with modern financial technology.

Buckley described Increase as "a lender for ambitious technology companies," adding that the creation of Increase Bank is intended primarily to attract new clients rather than expand relationships with existing ones.

Reflecting on his experience during six years at Stripe before founding Increase in 2020, Buckley said the new bank represents the type of institution he wished had existed during his earlier career.

"For years, I needed a bank with good product sense," he wrote. "One that grasped the possibilities of software and couldn't stand to see them stifled. Increase Bank is the bank I needed at Stripe."

Increase has quietly become an important infrastructure provider within the fintech ecosystem.

According to Buckley, companies including Stripe, Ramp and Gusto use its technology, with the platform now supporting approximately $500 billion in annual payment processing.

Rather than replacing existing banking relationships, the company has focused on providing the technology that enables financial institutions and fintech firms to move money more efficiently.

At the center of that proposition is a modern banking platform connected directly to the Federal Reserve, The Clearing House and Visa.

Increase's technology maintains the system of record for customer account balances and transactions while reconciling activity with the Federal Reserve in real time.

The company says this allows clients to manage accounts, initiate payments and access banking services more quickly and transparently than through traditional infrastructure.

"Being able to work more closely with a bank, especially with a bank that's culturally similar to us, and therefore has a lot of product-centricity, to enable our users to have reliable, transparent, flexible services is great," Buckley said.

Regulators approved Buckley's acquisition of Twin City Bancorp in June 2025. The community bank, which operated a single branch and reported approximately $114.6 million in assets at the end of the first quarter, now provides the regulated foundation supporting Increase's broader ambitions.

Buckley said his interest in acquiring a bank developed gradually through investments in community banking institutions over recent years.

"I've been making bank investments for a few years now," he said. "Twin City Bank is a tidy, profitable bank that happens to be relatively close to me."

The move reflects a wider trend within financial services as fintech firms increasingly seek greater control over regulated banking capabilities rather than relying exclusively on partner institutions.

While many fintech companies continue to operate through banking-as-a-service relationships, owning a regulated bank provides greater influence over product development, customer experience and balance sheet capabilities.

For Increase, the combination of banking infrastructure and modern software represents a long-term bet that technology companies will increasingly want banking partners designed with software development at their core.