Jiko

Market position

Jiko positions its T-bill-backed accounts as an alternative to bank deposits and money market funds, arguing that a money market fund is a security wrapped around repo markets and some T-bills. It became one of the first, and by some accounts the first, fintech company to acquire a nationally regulated U.S. bank. Interest in its product increased with rising short-term Treasury yields in 2022 and again after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023, when startups sought alternative places to hold cash.

Unlike most fintechs, Jiko owns a national bank charter and a broker-dealer, allowing it to hold securities in customers' names rather than rely on a partner bank's for-benefit-of deposit structure. It does not lend against client cash and emphasizes immediate liquidity, with assets held as Treasury bills that can be spent or settled around the clock.

Technology

The platform combines a nationally chartered bank, a broker-dealer, and settlement infrastructure into a single API-accessible stack. Cash is swept automatically into T-bills, and JikoNet supports real-time 24/7 movement of funds directly from accounts that remain fully invested in Treasuries. The company states T-bills can be spent via a Visa card swipe in 400 milliseconds, and that one partner moved from sandbox access to production in 11 days.

Go-to-market

Jiko distributes directly to corporate clients and through embedded partnerships in which other platforms offer T-bill-backed accounts using Jiko's stack. It supports this with published research, including a whitepaper on protecting corporate cash in volatile environments and a survey of treasury and finance professionals on real-time settlement.

Corporate treasurers and finance teams managing sizable cash positions, including those with deposits above FDIC insurance limits or heavy money market fund usage; startups through multinational corporations; and fintech, digital asset, and financial platforms embedding banking services. Named clients and partners include Crypto.com, Bitso, Coinbase, and Thornton Township Trustees of Schools.

Geography

Headquartered in Berkeley, California, with a nationally chartered U.S. bank subsidiary originally based in Minnesota. Clients and partners include U.S. corporate treasury teams and Latin America-focused platform Bitso; settlement supports domestic rails and SWIFT.

History

Founded in 2016 as a mobile banking startup, Jiko raised a $40m round co-led by Upfront Ventures and Wafra reported in October 2020, part of which funded its acquisition of Mid-Central National Bank, completed in September 2020 after extended regulatory review; the deal was approved under then-Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks. In November 2021 the company announced a pivot from consumer banking to a B2B strategy, and in October 2022 it launched Jiko Money Storage for corporate clients alongside a $40 million Series B. Larry Summers was quoted as an advisor to the firm in an October 2022 press release.

Risks & controversies

The Revolving Door Project criticized Jiko's advisory relationship with Larry Summers, arguing that his public advocacy for Federal Reserve rate increases created an undisclosed conflict of interest because higher short-term rates increase demand for Treasury bill products such as Jiko's. The same commentary questioned the regulatory environment under Comptroller Brian Brooks that enabled fintech acquisitions of national banks.