Softwr

APIs · head to head

Column vs Increase

Column logo

Column

APIs

A nationally chartered US bank that ships its own API, with no middleware in between

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: Column column publishes no pricing whatsoever, so there is no way to model cost before a sales process, and terms are negotiated per programme which favours larger, more sophisticated buyers.; 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: Column covers National bank charter, Increase covers ACH origination and receipt.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Column and Increase actually diverge.

Attributes where Column and Increase differ
AttributeColumnIncrease
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 Column

  • National bank charter
  • Direct Federal Reserve access
  • Ledger and accounts
  • International wires
  • Lending
  • Cheque handling
  • Correspondent banking

Only in Increase

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

Both cover

  • Real-time payments

What people use each for

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

Column

  • A fintech that has been burned by a middleware provider failing and wants its deposits held by the same entity that provides the APInot Increase
  • A payments company needing direct Fedwire and Swift access rather than routing through a correspondent it cannot seenot Increase
  • A lender that wants origination, funding and deposit accounts from one chartered institution instead of three counterpartiesnot Increase
  • A payroll or treasury platform where same-day settlement certainty matters more than fast onboardingnot 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 Column
  • A marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbersnot Column
  • A fintech that wants FedNow and RTP payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hoursnot Column
  • An engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logicnot Column

Where each one falls short

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

Column

  • Column publishes no pricing whatsoever, so there is no way to model cost before a sales process, and terms are negotiated per programme which favours larger, more sophisticated buyers.
  • Onboarding is bank diligence rather than vendor sign-up, and programmes routinely spend several months on compliance review, flow of funds documentation and volume forecasting before the first live transaction.
  • Column selects its customers and declines many, so the charter advantage is only available to programmes it considers acceptable risk, which excludes most early-stage teams.
  • It is United States only, so any programme with international account or local payment needs must add a second banking relationship and reconcile across both.
  • Being the bank means Column also carries the bank's regulatory constraints, so product changes that affect risk, such as new customer segments or higher-risk flows, need approval rather than a configuration change.

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

Column

On request
  • Column Bank Platform$undefined/year
    • Deposit accounts and ledger
    • ACH, wire, RTP and cheque rails
    • International wires over Swift

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 Column if

  • You need national bank charter.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want direct federal reserve access.
Column 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 Column or Increase better?
Neither clearly leads. Column 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, Column or Increase?
Column starts at On request and Increase at On request.
Does Column or Increase run on more platforms?
Column runs on Web, API. Increase runs on API, Web.
What is Column best used for?
Column is most often used for a fintech that has been burned by a middleware provider failing and wants its deposits held by the same entity that provides the api, a payments company needing direct fedwire and swift access rather than routing through a correspondent it cannot see, a lender that wants origination, funding and deposit accounts from one chartered institution instead of three counterparties, a payroll or treasury platform where same-day settlement certainty matters more than fast onboarding. Of those, a fintech that has been burned by a middleware provider failing and wants its deposits held by the same entity that provides the api and a payments company needing direct fedwire and swift access rather than routing through a correspondent it cannot see are not what Increase is typically brought in for.
What can Column do that Increase cannot?
Column covers National bank charter, Direct Federal Reserve access, Ledger and accounts, International wires. Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Domestic wires, Bank accounts, Cards. Both handle Real-time payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Column: Is Column actually a bank?

Yes. It is a nationally chartered, FDIC-insured bank, which is why there is no sponsor bank behind it.

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.

Column: How is that different from Synctera or Unit?

Those are technology providers that connect you to a separate sponsor bank. With Column the API provider and the depository institution are the same company.

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.

Column: What does Column cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is negotiated per programme.

Increase: Is it international?

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

Column: How long does onboarding take?

Expect months. This is bank-grade diligence on your compliance programme, not a vendor sign-up.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Column

More on Increase

Keep looking

Other head to heads