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APIs · head to head

Episode Six vs Increase

Episode Six logo

Episode Six

APIs

Payment processing and ledger platform deployable on premise or in your own cloud

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: Episode Six deployment on premise or in a private tenancy means the institution carries infrastructure, upgrade and PCI scope work that a hosted processor would absorb.; 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: Episode Six covers Tritium API platform, 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 Episode Six and Increase actually diverge.

Attributes where Episode Six and Increase differ
AttributeEpisode SixIncrease
PlatformsWeb, API, On-premiseAPI, 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 Episode Six

  • Tritium API platform
  • Flexible deployment
  • Multi product issuing
  • Digital wallets
  • Multi currency ledger
  • Network connectivity
  • Configurable product engine
  • Institutional controls

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.

Episode Six

  • A bank in a jurisdiction with data residency rules that forbid processing customer data in a shared multi tenant cloudnot Increase
  • A large institution replacing a legacy card processor without moving off its own infrastructurenot Increase
  • A telco or airline launching a branded wallet and card product at national scalenot Increase
  • A bank running prepaid, debit and credit products that wants them on one ledger rather than three processorsnot 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 Episode Six
  • A marketplace that must hold seller balances in ledgered accounts with real account and routing numbersnot Episode Six
  • A fintech that wants FedNow and RTP payouts so recipients are paid outside banking hoursnot Episode Six
  • An engineering team that needs the underlying return codes and settlement timing visible in order to build correct reconciliation and retry logicnot Episode Six

Where each one falls short

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

Episode Six

  • Deployment on premise or in a private tenancy means the institution carries infrastructure, upgrade and PCI scope work that a hosted processor would absorb.
  • Implementation runs to quarters and involves core banking, network certification and fraud system integration, so time to first card is far longer than with a self serve issuer processor.
  • Pricing is entirely bespoke and weighted to large programmes, which prices out fintechs and small issuers who would be better served by a hosted platform.
  • Being smaller than the incumbent processors, its network certifications and operational presence vary by region, so a global rollout can find gaps in specific markets.
  • The flexibility of six hundred APIs and a configurable product engine shifts design responsibility onto the buyer, and institutions without strong internal payments architects end up dependent on professional services.

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

Episode Six

On request
  • Tritium platform$undefined/year
    • Licence and implementation quoted per institution
    • Deployment model affects cost materially: on premise, private cloud or hosted
    • Processing fees typically per transaction or per active card

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 Episode Six if

  • You need tritium api platform.
  • You work on Web, API, On-premise.
  • You also want flexible deployment.
Episode Six 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 Episode Six or Increase better?
Neither clearly leads. Episode Six 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, Episode Six or Increase?
Episode Six starts at On request and Increase at On request.
Does Episode Six or Increase run on more platforms?
Episode Six runs on Web, API, On-premise. Increase runs on API, Web.
What is Episode Six best used for?
Episode Six is most often used for a bank in a jurisdiction with data residency rules that forbid processing customer data in a shared multi tenant cloud, a large institution replacing a legacy card processor without moving off its own infrastructure, a telco or airline launching a branded wallet and card product at national scale, a bank running prepaid, debit and credit products that wants them on one ledger rather than three processors. Of those, a bank in a jurisdiction with data residency rules that forbid processing customer data in a shared multi tenant cloud and a large institution replacing a legacy card processor without moving off its own infrastructure are not what Increase is typically brought in for.
What can Episode Six do that Increase cannot?
Episode Six covers Tritium API platform, Flexible deployment, Multi product issuing, Digital wallets. Increase covers ACH origination and receipt, Domestic wires, Real-time payments, Bank accounts.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Episode Six: Can Episode Six run inside our own data centre?

Yes. On premise and private cloud deployment is the main reason banks choose it over hosted only processors.

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.

Episode Six: Is it suitable for a startup issuing its first cards?

Not really. The licence, implementation timeline and cost are aimed at banks and large institutions.

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.

Episode Six: Do we still need a card licence or sponsor?

Yes. Episode Six is a processor. Network membership, licensing or a sponsor arrangement remains your responsibility.

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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