Why Does a Layer on a Bank Core Look Wrong?

Darragh Buckley says a technology layer or an API talking to a bank core looks very like 2010 payments, and in his view the setup is probably wrong. A bank needs a technology muscle, dropping into the core instead of adding another layer on top of bank technology. He stays skeptical when someone calls for a rebuild, because a rebuild is usually an odyssey. Building on top of bank technology had already worked for 15 years, so it was worth a closer look at whether any parts should be replaced.

The closer look prompted Increase. Increase replaces both the bank core and the API used to talk on top of it, in the same way Stripe did in 2010. Work started in 2020 by building the technology with a series of bank partners, and the same setup is still in place. The core talks directly to the Federal Reserve for Fed ACH, Fedwire, Check 21, and FedNow, and directly to Visa for card issuing. The technology had been running for years. It was built first to learn whether the problem reached past him and his friends.

He puts the completed purchase at maybe about a year ago: a small Washington State chartered bank called Twin City Bank. He calls Twin City Bank probably the closest bank to his house in Central Oregon. The bank was rebranded about last month as Increase Bank.