Tool profile
Increase: cost, fit and limits
Increase is a banking infrastructure platform made by Increase Technologies, Inc. that gives technology companies one API for bank accounts, cards, ACH, wires, checks, Real-Time Payments and FedNow, billed by usage rather than by subscription tier.
What to know first
Increase prices by use rather than by subscription. The pricing page lists USD 0.25 per virtual card created, USD 15.00 per card dispute, USD 3.00 per check mailed and the first five physical cards and ten account numbers free. Cards are one of eight products, so the card feature set is narrower than at card-first vendors. No AI feature or certification is named on the pages read.
Increase at a glance
| Maker | Increase Technologies, Inc., Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Free trial only |
| Entry price | Pay as you go, with virtual cards at USD 0.25 each |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Card Issuing Platforms in 2026, rank 6 of 12 |
| Website | increase.com |
Who Increase is best for
Startups moving money by API
Eight products behind one API let a small engineering team add cards after starting with ACH or wires, without a second vendor.
Teams wanting visible unit costs
Per-unit fees are printed, so a product manager can model cost per card, per dispute and per check before talking to anyone.
Companies reconciling payments
Reconciliation tools for technology companies are listed, which helps teams that match payment events to their own ledger and finance engineers who need payment events tied to ledger records.
Increase plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | USD 0.25 per virtual card created | Usage-based fees. Card disputes cost USD 15.00 each, and physical cards beyond the first five are on quote. The first ten account numbers are included. |
Checked November 2026.
What Increase does
- Cards product
- Virtual and physical cards can be issued through the API, with the card scope narrower than at card-first vendors. The card feature set is narrower than at card-first vendors, and the page describes it as one of eight products.
- Bank accounts
- Programmatic bank accounts let a company hold and move funds, with account numbers included for the first ten. Account numbers beyond the first ten are not priced on the pages read, so ask what extra numbers cost.
- Payment rails
- ACH, wires, Real-Time Payments, FedNow and Push-to-Card sit in the same API as cards. That puts card-like payouts in the same API as bank rails, which suits companies paying many individuals from one account.
- Check issuing
- Increase prints and mails checks at USD 3.00 each, for payees who cannot take electronic payments. Printing and mailing are handled by Increase, which suits payees who cannot receive electronic payments and removes a print vendor.
- Reconciliation tools
- Tools aimed at technology companies help match card, account and payment events to internal records. The page does not describe how matching works or which systems it connects to, so ask what exports exist.
How Increase handles your data
The pricing page and homepage do not say whether customer data trains AI models, how long data is retained or where it is hosted, and no certification is stated, so the vendor's policy was not checked for this. The maker is named as Increase Technologies, Inc.; the headquarters is not stated on the pages read. A buyer sending cardholder or account data should ask for audit reports, bank partner terms and retention rules in writing.
Where Increase falls short in practice
- Cards are one of eight products. The card feature set is narrow compared with card-first vendors, with no credit, rewards or detailed fraud tooling described on the pages read. Ask what fraud tooling, credit or rewards exist if your program needs more than basic virtual and physical cards.
- No AI features. No AI capability is named, so teams wanting agent spending or AI categorization will need to build or buy it elsewhere. Teams wanting agent spending or automatic categorization will need to build that on top or pick another vendor.
- No stated certifications. The pages read name no SOC 2, ISO or PCI standard, so security review needs documents from the vendor. Security review therefore needs documents from the vendor, such as audit reports and bank partner terms.
Alternatives to Increase
Increase: common questions
How much does an Increase virtual card cost?
The pricing page lists USD 0.25 per virtual card created. The first five physical cards and ten account numbers are included, and physical cards beyond five are on quote. Disputes are charged separately at USD 15.00 each. Check the fee table again at launch, since pricing pages can change.
Does Increase have subscription plans?
No subscription tiers are published. Pricing is pay as you go per transaction, item or unit. That suits teams with uneven volume, though it makes monthly costs harder to predict than a fixed plan, so model your expected usage. Model your expected volume for each product before you choose.
What else can Increase do besides cards?
Increase lists eight products: ACH, bank accounts, cards, checks, wires, Real-Time Payments, FedNow and Push-to-Card. Checks are mailed and printed at USD 3.00 each, so one API can cover several payment methods. Each product carries its own fee line, such as USD 3.00 for a mailed check, so total cost depends on which rails you use.
Does Increase offer AI features?
None are named on the pages read. The product is infrastructure: accounts, cards and payment rails with reconciliation tools. If you want AI agents or automatic categorization, you would layer that on yourself or pick another vendor. Compare it with vendors that name such features if you need them.
Is Increase a card-first platform?
No. Cards are one of eight products, and the narrow card scope is a trade-off for open unit pricing. A company running a large consumer card program with credit and fraud tooling would compare it against card-first issuers. Ask what card controls exist and how disputes are handled at scale.