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APIs · head to head

Aiia vs Increase

Aiia logo

Aiia

APIs

Open banking and open finance API platform, now operating as Mastercard Open Banking

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Increase logo

Increase

APIs

Direct banking API for ACH, wires, real-time payments, accounts and cards

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Aiia it is now part of Mastercard rather than an independent company, so a business specifically wanting to avoid card network dependency in its banking infrastructure no longer gets that separation by choosing Aiia.; Increase the published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.
  • They diverge on capability: Aiia covers Bank account data access, Increase covers ACH origination and receipt.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiia and Increase actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiia and Increase differ
AttributeAiiaIncrease
PlatformsWeb, APIAPI, Web

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aiia

  • Bank account data access
  • Payment initiation
  • Mastercard Open Finance integration
  • Modern authentication support
  • Multi-country coverage
  • Developer documentation and sandbox

Only in Increase

  • ACH origination and receipt
  • Domestic wires
  • Real-time payments
  • Bank accounts
  • Cards
  • Cheques
  • Sandbox and simulations
  • Audit and reconciliation data

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aiia

  • A lending or credit product needing affordability checks via European bank account datanot Increase
  • A personal finance or accounting product needing transaction history across Nordic and European banksnot Increase
  • A payments product wanting account-to-account payment initiation under open banking regulationnot Increase
  • A business wanting the stability and continued investment of Mastercard ownership behind its banking connectivity providernot Increase

Increase

  • A payroll or treasury product that needs to originate same-day ACH and wires under its own control rather than through a payment processornot Aiia
  • A marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbersnot Aiia
  • A fintech that wants FedNow and RTP payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hoursnot Aiia
  • An engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logicnot Aiia

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aiia

  • It is now part of Mastercard rather than an independent company, so a business specifically wanting to avoid card network dependency in its banking infrastructure no longer gets that separation by choosing Aiia.
  • Pricing is not published and requires engaging Mastercard's open finance sales process, which can be a heavier sales motion than dealing with a smaller independent open banking provider.
  • Its strongest bank coverage remains concentrated in the Nordics and Northern Europe, so companies needing dense coverage in Southern or Eastern Europe should verify current bank connectivity before committing.
  • Brand confusion is real: developer documentation, login portals and older case studies still reference "Aiia" while newer Mastercard material refers to "Mastercard Open Banking," and a company researching either name in isolation may miss half the relevant material.
  • As with any open banking platform, reliability still depends on the consistency of the underlying banks' own APIs, which is a systemic industry issue rather than something Aiia specifically controls.

Increase

  • The published per transaction rates exclude a monthly platform fee that Increase states varies by use case, so the transparent price page cannot produce a total cost and the material part of the deal is still negotiated privately.
  • Free allowances are deliberately small at ten account numbers and five physical cards, so any programme issuing accounts or cards at volume moves to quoted pricing almost immediately.
  • Banking is provided through partner banks, so programme approval, compliance obligations and the ability to launch at all depend on a bank relationship you do not control, and post-Synapse bank risk appetite has tightened considerably.
  • The API deliberately exposes payment rail mechanics rather than smoothing them, which is correct engineering but means a team without payments expertise will build reconciliation and return handling wrongly and only discover it when funds go astray.
  • Coverage is United States only, so a company with international payout needs runs a second provider and reconciles two ledgers, and the single API argument disappears at the first cross border customer.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiia

On request
  • Aiia Enterprise (Mastercard Open Banking)$undefined/year
    • Pricing not published, quote via Mastercard Open Finance sales

Increase

On request
  • Increase Platform$undefined/month
    • Monthly fee quoted by use case and not published
    • Next-day ACH origination listed at 0.50 US dollars per transaction
    • Same-day ACH origination listed at 2.00 per transaction

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiia if

  • You need bank account data access.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want payment initiation.
Aiia review

Choose Increase if

  • You need ach origination and receipt.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want domestic wires.
Increase review

Questions people ask

Is Aiia or Increase better?
Neither clearly leads. Aiia starts at On request and Increase at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiia or Increase?
Aiia starts at On request and Increase at On request.
Does Aiia or Increase run on more platforms?
Aiia runs on Web, API. Increase runs on API, Web.
What is Aiia best used for?
Aiia is most often used for a lending or credit product needing affordability checks via european bank account data, a personal finance or accounting product needing transaction history across nordic and european banks, a payments product wanting account-to-account payment initiation under open banking regulation, a business wanting the stability and continued investment of mastercard ownership behind its banking connectivity provider. Of those, a lending or credit product needing affordability checks via european bank account data and a personal finance or accounting product needing transaction history across nordic and european banks are not what Increase is typically brought in for.
What can Aiia do that Increase cannot?
Aiia covers Bank account data access, Payment initiation, Mastercard Open Finance integration, Modern authentication support. Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Domestic wires, Real-time payments, Bank accounts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aiia: Is Aiia still an independent company?

No, it was acquired by Mastercard in 2021 and now operates as part of Mastercard Open Finance Solutions, referenced as Aiia Enterprise.

Increase: Does Increase publish its pricing?

Partly. Per transaction fees for ACH, wires, RTP, FedNow and cards are listed publicly. The monthly platform fee is not, and it is described only as varying by use case.

Aiia: Does the Aiia brand still exist?

Yes, in developer documentation and login portals, but the company behind it is Mastercard.

Increase: Who holds the deposits?

Partner banks, not Increase itself. That relationship determines your programme approval, your compliance obligations and your risk if the bank changes appetite.

Aiia: Which banks does it cover?

Around 3,000 European banks, with strongest coverage in the Nordics and Northern Europe.

Increase: Is it international?

No. Increase covers United States rails only, so cross border payouts require a second provider.

Increase: How is it different from a middleware BaaS platform?

It exposes the rails rather than abstracting them, showing real return codes and settlement timing. That suits teams who understand payments and punishes teams who do not.

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