How banks supply accounts, cards and loans to fintechs, who the providers are and what regulators require.
BaaS and sponsor banks are the two halves of banking as a service. A sponsor bank is a chartered bank that holds the deposits, issues the cards or makes the loans behind a non-bank’s product. A BaaS provider supplies the APIs, ledger and compliance tools that connect the fintech or software platform to that bank. The bank stays responsible to its regulators for the whole program, which is why regulator records matter to anyone choosing a partner.
How a BaaS program is structured
A typical U.S. program has four roles: the end customer, the brand or platform that owns the relationship, the technology provider, and the bank. The July 25, 2024 joint statement of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the OCC says such arrangements “are sometimes referred to as ‘banking-as-a-service’ or ‘embedded finance’” and names the intermediaries involved: platform providers, processors, middleware providers, aggregation layers and program managers. See embedded finance vs banking as a service for the difference between the two terms.
BaaS providers in our directory
| Provider | What it says it does | Banks it names |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | APIs, dashboard and white-label UI for software companies; accounts, payments, cards and credit | Thread Bank, Lincoln Savings Bank, i3 Bank |
| Treasury Prime | “Bank OS” for banks and credit unions, with a marketplace that matches fintechs to banks | KeyBank, U.S. Bank, i3 Bank, Coastal and others in its network |
| Synctera | APIs, ledger and console for accounts, cards and money movement in the U.S. and Canada | Stearns Bank, First Internet Bank, Midland States Bank and others |
| Increase | Accounts, ACH, wires, real-time payments, checks and cards for technology companies | Increase Bank (its own), Grasshopper Bank, First Internet Bank of Indiana, Core Bank |
Bank relationships are listed only where the provider or the bank announced them; each profile shows the date of the announcement.
Sponsor banks and their enforcement records
Our sponsor bank enforcement actions tracker lists 17 FDIC, OCC and Federal Reserve actions since March 2023 tied to banks’ fintech, BaaS or third-party payment business. As of September 26, 2026, 10 are in force and 7 have been terminated. Several restrict growth: Cross River Bank needs the FDIC’s non-objection before a new third-party lending partner, and Evolve Bank & Trust needs its supervisors’ prior approval for new fintech partners in its Open Banking Division. The sponsor banks directory has a profile for each bank, with its regulator and record.
What has changed since 2023
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 6, 2023 | FDIC, Federal Reserve and OCC issue the Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships |
| April 22, 2024 | Synapse Financial Technologies files for Chapter 11 |
| July 25, 2024 | Joint statement on bank-fintech deposit arrangements and a request for information |
| September 17, 2024 | FDIC proposes recordkeeping rules for custodial deposit accounts (still pending in September 2026) |
| November 28, 2025 | CFPB allocates $46,248,291 from its Civil Penalty Fund to Synapse consumers |
| August 27, 2026 | OCC and FDIC final rule defining “unsafe or unsound practice”, effective November 2 |
| September 2, 2026 | OCC conditional charters for Revolut Bank US and OpenReserve Bank |
| September 8, 2026 | Chime agrees to buy Stride Bank, its sponsor bank |
| September 11, 2026 | Agencies propose replacing the 2023 third-party guidance |
Guides in this section
- How to choose a sponsor bank: charter, enforcement record, oversight, records and exit.
- How to read a consent order: what the sections of an order mean for a bank’s fintech partners.
