# Darragh Buckley

> Darragh Buckley is the founder and CEO of Increase, an enterprise-grade banking API company that lets technology businesses programmatically store, move, and reconcile money by connecting directly into the Federal Reserve's payment rails. He was Stripe's first employee, joining the Collison brothers - fellow natives of Limerick, Ireland - in 2010 to build the banking and money-movement foundations of the company. After leaving Stripe in 2016, he founded Increase (YC Summer 2020), which now processes well over $100 billion a year with a famously tiny team. A contrarian who believes in the staying power of community banks, he has personally acquired stakes in small Washington-state banks, including a 10%-plus position in Twin City Bank that triggered Federal Reserve disclosure.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Increase
- **Organizations:** Increase, Stripe (former), Twin City Bank (investor)
- **From:** Limerick, Ireland
- **Nationality:** Irish
- **Education:** Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Engineering, University of Michigan
- **Known for:** First employee at Stripe (2010), built core banking infrastructure and negotiated the Wells Fargo partnership., Founded Increase, a banking-API platform now processing over $100 billion per year., Built one of the most capital-efficient fintech infrastructure companies, serving customers like Ramp, Check, and Pipe with a tiny team.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Becomes Stripe's first employee, joining Limerick natives Patrick and John Collison; builds the company's banking and money-movement infrastructure, including the Wells Fargo partnership.
- **2016** — Leaves Stripe; starts a family and takes time to travel.
- **2020** — Founds Increase and goes through Y Combinator's Summer 2020 batch.
- **2024** — Increase processing over $100 billion annually with a team of roughly 15-27 people.
- **2025** — Acquires a stake exceeding 10% in Twin City Bank (Longview, WA), triggering Federal Reserve disclosure - his third investment in a Washington community bank.

## Achievements

- First employee at Stripe (2010), built core banking infrastructure and negotiated the Wells Fargo partnership.
- Founded Increase, a banking-API platform now processing over $100 billion per year.
- Built one of the most capital-efficient fintech infrastructure companies, serving customers like Ramp, Check, and Pipe with a tiny team.
- Connected Increase directly into Federal Reserve payment rails (FedACH, Fedwire, FedNow, real-time payments).
- Acquired controlling-disclosure stakes in multiple Washington-state community banks.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Acquired a 10%-plus stake in Twin City Bank in Longview, Washington, triggering Federal Reserve disclosure; stated the bank will remain community-focused and will not do sponsor banking.
- **2025-04** — Featured in an in-depth interview about Increase's founding, philosophy, and approach to specialized, compliant banking infrastructure.

## Links

- Website: https://increase.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darragh-buckley-56096312/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/darraghbuckley
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKKAOuL-GDk

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/darragh-buckley
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24