Why Stripe’s 1st Employee Bought a Bank | Darragh Buckley, Increase

Increase founder Darragh Buckley explains the necessity of verticalizing banking infrastructure by providing direct API access to US depository functionality. Unlike previous fintech models that built abstractions over legacy bank cores, Increase exposes raw network data—such as FedACH and FedWire specifications—to allow developers to programmatically orchestrate finances with higher reliability and transparency. Buckley details the complex regulatory process of acquiring a bank and emphasizes the importance of embedding compliance regimes directly into the product architecture rather than treating them as post-hoc requirements. Drawing on his experience as the first employee at Stripe, he highlights the value of high-empowerment cultures, the necessity of maintaining operational speed, and the strategic advantage of "boring" technology in building stable financial infrastructure. This approach enables companies to manage massive payment volumes with lean teams by eliminating the need for manual reconciliation and heuristic-based workarounds.