Description.
Column is a nationally chartered bank (Column N.A., Member FDIC) that provides API-first banking infrastructure for developers, fintechs, and financial institutions. Founded by Plaid co-founder William Hockey, Column was built from scratch starting in 2019 and publicly launched in April 2022. The company acquired Northern California National Bank for $50 million of the founders' own money in 2021, rebranding it as Column. Its products include ACH, Wire, Realtime payments, Book Transfers, Bank Accounts, Card Programs (BIN sponsorship for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover), Checks, International Wires via Swift, a built-in Ledger, and Lending (Loan Origination, Debt Financing, Loan Purchase). Notable clients include Brex, Mercury, Ramp, Best Egg, Bilt, Carta, and Wise. Column processes $2 trillion+ in annual transaction volume, is the #1 issuer of real-time payments in the US, processes $100 billion+ in international payments annually, and maintains 99.999% uptime.Â
Column operates exclusively on USD fiat rails with no explicit blockchain, cryptocurrency, or stablecoin support. It is 100% founder and employee-owned with zero outside venture capital. The company is profitable with approximately $200 million in revenue (2025), $100 million+ free cash flow, and ~85% gross margins. Headcount is approximately 136 employees (LinkedIn, May 2026), with headquarters in San Francisco and presence in the United Kingdom and Spain. Column is regulated by the OCC as a nationally chartered bank and is a principal member of Visa, Mastercard, and Discover card networks.
Key Infrastructure.
ACH
Originate ACH credits and debits with a single API request using Column's direct Federal Reserve connection. Utilize all six settlement windows, configure every NACHA option, control returns and disputes programmatically via API.
Wire
Transfer funds immediately through FedWire via API with settlement 22 hours per day, 5 days per week. Receive domestic and international wires with instant webhook updates and full raw data transparency.
Realtime Payments
Access the newest payment rails from The Clearing House RTP and Federal Reserve FedNow. Instant, transparent settlements available 24/7/365 with support for high-value transactions of up to $10 million each.
Bank Accounts
Programmatically spin up FDIC-insured checking, savings, FBO, sweep, clearing, and custom account types in one API call. Supports dynamic disposable account numbers with specific permissions and configurable limits per number.
Card Programs
Build customized card programs with a dedicated BIN on Visa, Mastercard, or Discover networks. Own 100% of interchange with full flexibility on issuing processor choice and program economics at scale.
International Wires
Access Swift network directly to send money to over 180 countries in over 135 global currencies via a single API call. Full FX transparency with real-time tracking and amendment capabilities.
Additional Features.
OpenAPI Specification
Column's entire API is defined by a published OpenAPI spec for generating type-safe client SDKs in any language or importing into popular API testing tools.
Dynamic Account Numbers
Create multiple programmable account numbers pointing to a single bank account with specific permissions, limits, and descriptions for granular control over each number's usage.
Webhooks & Event System
Receive real-time webhook notifications for every stage of transfer processing from initiation through settlement, returns, reversals, disputes, and delivery status changes automatically.
Sandbox & Testing
Full sandbox environment with simulation APIs for testing complete payment workflows including settlement, returns, reversals, error scenarios, and edge cases thoroughly before going live in production.
FX Rate & Quote APIs
Real-time foreign exchange rates with the ability to quote, book, and cancel FX forward contracts through dedicated APIs. Supports markups via basis point spreads on quotes.
Compliance & Risk Tools
KYC/KYB verification via API, OFAC screening, ACH positive pay rules, custom role-based permissions, and configurable transaction approval workflows built directly into the platform.
