Darragh Buckley
Darragh Buckley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Limerick, Ireland |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) University of Michigan (MS) |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, software engineer |
| Known for | Founder of Increase; |
| Title | CEO of Increase |
Darragh Buckley is an Irish-American entrepreneur, software engineer,[1] and founder and chief executive officer of Increase, a financial technology company.[2][3]
Biography
[edit]Buckley is a native of Limerick, Ireland. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan.[4]
Before entering the fintech sector, Buckley worked at Lehman Brothers.[5]
In 2010, Buckley joined Stripe as its first employee. Over the next six years, he was responsible for negotiating, implementing, and scaling Stripe's agreement with its primary bank partner, Wells Fargo, as well as building and scaling the company's programmatic controls for deposit account structures, money movement, regulation, cybersecurity, and privacy.[5] He left Stripe in 2016.[5]
Buckley founded Increase in 2020. The company enables financial services to be delivered programmatically, covering functions such as automated clearinghouse (ACH) transactions, wire transfers, and real-time payments. Its platform also functions as a core banking system, enabling clients to manage accounts, ledgers, and transaction processing through application programming interfaces (APIs).[6] Increase has partnered with FDIC-insured banks, including Grasshopper Bank and First Internet Bank of Indiana, to provide regulated financial services.[5][7][8]
Increase was named to the Forbes Fintech 50 list in 2025 and 2026.[9]
Additionally, Buckley previously served as a member of the board of directors of Washington Business Bank.[10][11][12] The bank was acquired by Sound Credit Union in June 2025:[13] In mid-2025, Buckley acquired a controlling stake exceeding 10 percent in Twin City Bank, a community bank in Longview, Washington.[14][15][16]
References
[edit]
- ↑ Shu, Catherine. "Fintech firm founder buys major stake in Washington community bank". Tech in Asia. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Forbes debuts 18 new firms to Fintech 50 list". Finextra. February 11, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Darragh Buckley on the Future of Banking". Spotify. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Increase: The Future of Programmatic Banking". Soar Pay. April 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Community Banks: Darragh Buckley on a Tech-Enabled Future". AIR - Alliance for Innovative Regulation. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "BaaS, Regtech & Payment Infrastructure Take Center Stage in Fintech M&A Rebound". Fintech News Switzerland. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Stripe's first employee is the founder of fintech Increase". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Interview with Darragh Buckley". YouTube. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Forbes: The Fintech 50 2025". MIT News. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Executive Profile: Darragh Buckley". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Community Banks: Darragh Buckley on a Tech-Enabled Future". AIR - Alliance for Innovative Regulation. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Darragh Buckley Profile". PitchBook. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Welcome Washington Business Bank". Sound Credit Union. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (July 3, 2025). "Stripe's first employee, the founder of fintech Increase, (sort of) bought a bank". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Stripe co-founder agrees to buy business bank". The Bank Slate. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ Sexton, Colette. "Stripe's first hire Darragh Buckley buys stake in US community bank Twin City". Business Post. Retrieved May 12, 2026.