SHIFT · US
Fintech Increase acquires community bank to vertically integrate payments infrastructure
Increase, a payments-infrastructure fintech founded by Stripe's first employee, acquired its own community bank, moving from SaaS vendor to licensed processor and deposit-taker.
WHY IT MATTERS
Signals fintech pivot from software licensing to direct charter ownership; removes BFSI intermediaries and regulatory arbitrage. Expect wave of similar vertical integrations as fintechs own the rails.
Source: Finextra · 2026-07-30