{"id":"agent-banking-treasury","slug":"agent-banking-treasury","name":"Startup & Agent-Fleet Banking, Treasury & Programmable ACH/Wire Rails","shortName":"Agent banking & treasury rails","problemStatement":"Run operating accounts, programmable ACH/wire payouts, treasury yield and multi-account permissions for a startup or an autonomous agent fleet — with per-agent spend limits, approvals and an audit trail instead of a shared corporate card.","whenNotTopPick":"Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them.","categoryIds":["cat-auth-payments"],"depotPickProviderId":"stripe","depotPickRationale":"Stripe Treasury (financial accounts, ACH/wire money movement) + Financial Connections + Issuing gives one API surface and one webhook stream for balances, payouts and card controls; Lithic is the issuer-processor runner-up when you need dedicated card programs with real-time auth decisions. Pair either with the Depot 3-layer agentic treasury stack (/playbooks/agentic-finance).","runnersUpIds":["lithic","polar","paddle","orb"],"weights":{"capabilityFit":0.24,"pricePerformance":0.12,"latencyReliability":0.18,"developerDx":0.14,"privacyPosture":0.12,"lockInRisk":0.06,"maturity":0.14},"methodologyNotes":"Weights reliability, maturity and privacy posture above price: money movement fails expensively. Architectural guidance (not scored, not in catalog): Mercury API + IO virtual cards (operating bank), Increase (direct FedACH/Fedwire), Column (chartered developer bank), Wise Platform (multi-currency FX). Never let an agent initiate a transfer without a capped, merchant-locked instrument and a post-spend receipt.","tags":["banking","treasury","ach","wire","fintech","finance"],"scoreMargin":0.16,"isNearTie":true,"pickConfidenceBand":"near_tie_co_pick","nearTie":{"isNearTie":true,"scoreMargin":0.16,"threshold":0.35,"pickConfidenceBand":"near_tie_co_pick","coPickProviderId":"lithic","coPickProviderName":"Lithic","coPickScore":8.75,"decidingFactor":"maturity (9.8 vs 8.8)","methodologyWarning":"Top pick (8.91) and #2 runner-up (8.75) are separated by 0.16 points (<= 0.35 weight-sensitivity band). Treat them as co-picks and use the workload tie-breaker rule below rather than the raw composite decimal.","tieBreakerRule":"Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them."},"evidenceStatus":{"decisionRole":"independent_prior_and_candidate_generator","positioning":"The independent, agent-readable prior for choosing AI infrastructure — not a universal router, generic marketplace, or synthetic leaderboard.","freshnessThresholdDays":30,"freshness_policy":{"policy_version":"agentdepot.freshness_policy.v1","threshold_days":30},"freshness_state":"fresh","editorial_freshness_state":"fresh","unqualified_current_pick_allowed":true,"pick_qualification":"qualified_current_pick","promotionClass":"deterministic_source_reverified","evidenceClass":"editorial_prior","staleDowngraded":false,"effectiveConfidence":"high","confidenceHalfWidth":0.5,"pickScoreAgeDays":0,"editorialJudgmentAgeDays":0,"pricingAgeDays":0,"isPickScoreStale":false,"isPricingStale":false,"editorialJudgmentAsOf":"2026-10-28","pricingVerifiedAt":"2026-10-28","outcomeVerifiedAt":null,"effectiveVerifiedAsOf":"2026-10-28","downgradeReasons":[],"stalenessWarning":"Editorial judgment and deterministic pricing verification are both within the 30-day freshness threshold.","promotionGate":{"deterministicPricingCheck":true,"approvedScoreReaffirm":true,"pendingHumanReviewBlock":false,"zeroUnverifiedSkus":true,"costEfficiencyConsistent":true,"lockInAndReliabilityConsistent":true,"secondModelOrRuleAudit":true,"countersignReceiptIds":[],"otsAttestationHead":"b32634d5784cbfe663be0a16cce4f60a3ff1c3d4490437be00361cb4ae5d5d59","sourceCheckDate":"2026-10-28","activePricingRowsCount":0,"freeResourcesCount":0,"runnerUpPricingRowsCount":0},"claimProvenance":{"claim_id":"claim:agent-banking-treasury:stripe:depot-pick","provider_id":"stripe","jtbd_id":"agent-banking-treasury","primary_url":"https://stripe.com/billing","source_type":"primary_pricing","source_revision":"sha256:7a1232e75999beb5","observed_at":"2026-10-28","checked_at":"2026-10-28","claim_support_state":"claim_specific_supported","max_allowed_evidence_class":"replicated_outcome","defect_codes":[],"sources":[{"original_url":"https://stripe.com","final_url":"https://stripe.com","redirected":false,"http_status":200,"reachable":true,"source_type":"generic_homepage","is_claim_specific":false,"source_revision":"sha256:9db7f31a8d4327ce","observed_at":"2026-10-28","checked_at":"2026-10-28"},{"original_url":"https://stripe.com/billing","final_url":"https://stripe.com/billing","redirected":false,"http_status":200,"reachable":true,"source_type":"primary_pricing","is_claim_specific":true,"source_revision":"sha256:7a1232e75999beb5","observed_at":"2026-10-28","checked_at":"2026-10-28"}]},"verifiedOutcomeSummary":{"totalVerifiedReceipts":0,"byEvidenceTier":{"E0_ASSERTION":0,"E1_SOURCE_BOUND":0,"E2_DELIVERY":0,"E3_INDEPENDENT_OUTCOME":0,"E4_REPLICATED_OUTCOME":0},"bySubjectLayer":{"provider":0,"product":0,"model_version":0,"runtime_route":0}}},"pickScoreDetails":{"scoreRange":[8.41,9.41],"formattedScore":"8.9 ± 0.5 (8.4–9.4 · editorial_prior)","evidenceClass":"editorial_prior","promotionClass":"deterministic_source_reverified","staleDowngraded":false,"freshState":"fresh","freshness_state":"fresh","effectiveConfidence":"high","confidenceInterval":{"low":8.41,"mid":8.91,"high":9.41,"halfWidth":0.5,"confidenceLevel":0.8,"basis":"deterministic_source_reverified_interval_0.5"},"editorialJudgmentAsOf":"2026-10-28","sourceAgeDays":0,"pricingVerifiedAt":"2026-10-28","pricingAgeDays":0,"outcomeVerifiedAt":null,"effectiveVerifiedAsOf":"2026-10-28","dissentingEvidence":["Fees add up globally","Account review risk","Not a full auth solution","When not to use top pick: Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them.","Runner-up Lithic (lithic) is the primary alternative when constraints disqualify Stripe."],"whatWouldChangePick":["Caller constraint matching: Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them.","Live quota or rate-limit exhaustion on stripe (pass ?exhausted=stripe or liveQuota.exhaustedProviders=[\"stripe\"] to promote lithic).","Active subscription or enterprise commit on lithic combined with low switching-cost tolerance (existingSubscriptions + switchingCost.maxMigrationEffort=\"low\").","Sourced price increase >20% on https://stripe.com or unverified SKU drift detected by npm run check:sources."],"claimProvenance":{"claim_id":"claim:agent-banking-treasury:stripe:depot-pick","provider_id":"stripe","jtbd_id":"agent-banking-treasury","primary_url":"https://stripe.com/billing","source_type":"primary_pricing","source_revision":"sha256:7a1232e75999beb5","observed_at":"2026-10-28","checked_at":"2026-10-28","claim_support_state":"claim_specific_supported","max_allowed_evidence_class":"replicated_outcome","defect_codes":[],"sources":[{"original_url":"https://stripe.com","final_url":"https://stripe.com","redirected":false,"http_status":200,"reachable":true,"source_type":"generic_homepage","is_claim_specific":false,"source_revision":"sha256:9db7f31a8d4327ce","observed_at":"2026-10-28","checked_at":"2026-10-28"},{"original_url":"https://stripe.com/billing","final_url":"https://stripe.com/billing","redirected":false,"http_status":200,"reachable":true,"source_type":"primary_pricing","is_claim_specific":true,"source_revision":"sha256:7a1232e75999beb5","observed_at":"2026-10-28","checked_at":"2026-10-28"}]},"calibratedScore":{"point":8.91,"band":[8.41,9.41],"interval":{"lower":8.41,"upper":9.41,"half_width":0.5},"score_kind":"source_bound_prior_band","evidence_class":"source_bound","confidence":"medium","confidence_ceiling":"medium","age_days":0,"dissent":["Fees add up globally","Account review risk","Not a full auth solution","When not to use top pick: Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them.","Runner-up Lithic (lithic) is the primary alternative when constraints disqualify Stripe."],"what_would_change_this":["Caller constraint matching: Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them.","Live quota or rate-limit exhaustion on stripe (pass ?exhausted=stripe or liveQuota.exhaustedProviders=[\"stripe\"] to promote lithic).","Active subscription or enterprise commit on lithic combined with low switching-cost tolerance (existingSubscriptions + switchingCost.maxMigrationEffort=\"low\").","Sourced price increase >20% on https://stripe.com or unverified SKU drift detected by npm run check:sources."],"subject_layer":"provider"},"subject_ref":{"layer":"provider","provider_id":"stripe","product_id":"stripe-core","model_id":null,"version":null,"route_class":null,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"}},"runtimeRoutes":[{"routeId":"agent-banking-treasury:stripe:primary","roleForJob":"depot_pick","provider":{"id":"stripe","slug":"stripe","name":"Stripe","website":"https://stripe.com","status":"active"},"model":{"representativeModelId":"Stripe Standard US Online Card Processing (2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge)","skuId":"stripe-card-processing-base","unit":"usd_per_transaction","amountUsd":0.3,"sourceUrl":"https://stripe.com/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-28"},"servingRoute":{"primaryRouteType":"managed_cloud_service","endpointPattern":"https://stripe.com (managed cloud service)","aggregatorAlternatives":[{"aggregatorId":"direct-only","name":"Stripe Direct API","routeType":"first_party","tradeoff":"Direct vendor SDK/REST contract; pair with runner-up for multi-vendor failover."}]},"accountAndQuota":{"freeTierAvailable":false,"freeTierSummary":null,"rateLimitsSummary":"See /api/limits?provider=stripe","subscriptionFirstEligible":true,"documentedPlansCount":0},"regions":{"supportedRegions":["global"],"multiRegionFailover":true,"euResidencyAvailable":true},"toolSchemaSupport":{"strictJsonSchema":true,"parallelToolCalls":false,"mcpServerAvailable":true,"streamingSupported":true},"latencyTier":{"tier":"interactive_sub_1s","latencyReliabilityScore":9.4,"coldStartNotes":"Standard warm pool; check provider SLA for burst concurrency"},"privacyConfig":{"privacyPostureScore":8.5,"zeroDataRetentionAvailable":true,"trainsOnApiDataByDefault":false,"hipaaEligible":true,"selfHostable":false},"availabilityStatus":{"providerStatus":"active","verifiedActiveSkus":1,"unverifiedSkus":0,"liveFailoverTargetId":"lithic"},"subject_ref":{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:stripe:Stripe Standard US Online Card Processing (2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge):managed_cloud_service:global","provider_id":"stripe","product_id":"stripe-core","model_id":"Stripe Standard US Online Card Processing (2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge)","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"managed_cloud_service","region":"global","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"},"distinctRouteSubjects":[{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:stripe:Stripe Standard US Online Card Processing (2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge):direct_api:global","provider_id":"stripe","product_id":"stripe-core","model_id":"Stripe Standard US Online Card Processing (2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge)","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"direct_api","region":"global","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"}]},{"routeId":"agent-banking-treasury:lithic:primary","roleForJob":"runner_up","provider":{"id":"lithic","slug":"lithic","name":"Lithic","website":"https://www.lithic.com","status":"active"},"model":{"representativeModelId":"Lithic Starter Programmable Card Issuing ($0/mo base platform fee)","skuId":"lithic-starter-platform","unit":"usd_per_month","amountUsd":0,"sourceUrl":"https://www.lithic.com/pricing","asOf":"2026-10-28"},"servingRoute":{"primaryRouteType":"managed_cloud_service","endpointPattern":"https://www.lithic.com (managed cloud service)","aggregatorAlternatives":[{"aggregatorId":"direct-only","name":"Lithic Direct API","routeType":"first_party","tradeoff":"Direct vendor SDK/REST contract; pair with runner-up for multi-vendor failover."}]},"accountAndQuota":{"freeTierAvailable":false,"freeTierSummary":null,"rateLimitsSummary":"See /api/limits?provider=lithic","subscriptionFirstEligible":true,"documentedPlansCount":0},"regions":{"supportedRegions":["us"],"multiRegionFailover":false,"euResidencyAvailable":false},"toolSchemaSupport":{"strictJsonSchema":true,"parallelToolCalls":false,"mcpServerAvailable":true,"streamingSupported":true},"latencyTier":{"tier":"interactive_sub_1s","latencyReliabilityScore":9.2,"coldStartNotes":"Standard warm pool; check provider SLA for burst concurrency"},"privacyConfig":{"privacyPostureScore":8.8,"zeroDataRetentionAvailable":true,"trainsOnApiDataByDefault":false,"hipaaEligible":true,"selfHostable":false},"availabilityStatus":{"providerStatus":"active","verifiedActiveSkus":1,"unverifiedSkus":0,"liveFailoverTargetId":"stripe"},"subject_ref":{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:lithic:Lithic Starter Programmable Card Issuing ($0/mo base platform fee):managed_cloud_service:us","provider_id":"lithic","product_id":"lithic-core","model_id":"Lithic Starter Programmable Card Issuing ($0/mo base platform fee)","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"managed_cloud_service","region":"us","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"},"distinctRouteSubjects":[{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:lithic:Lithic Starter Programmable Card Issuing ($0/mo base platform fee):direct_api:us","provider_id":"lithic","product_id":"lithic-core","model_id":"Lithic Starter Programmable Card Issuing ($0/mo base platform fee)","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"direct_api","region":"us","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"}]},{"routeId":"agent-banking-treasury:polar:primary","roleForJob":"runner_up","provider":{"id":"polar","slug":"polar","name":"Polar","website":"https://polar.sh","status":"active"},"model":{"representativeModelId":"Polar Merchant of Record (4% + $0.40 per transaction)","skuId":"polar-mor-fee-base","unit":"usd_per_transaction","amountUsd":0.4,"sourceUrl":"https://polar.sh/docs/merchant-of-record/fees","asOf":"2026-10-28"},"servingRoute":{"primaryRouteType":"self_hosted_or_oss_compatible","endpointPattern":"https://polar.sh (self hosted or oss compatible)","aggregatorAlternatives":[{"aggregatorId":"direct-only","name":"Polar Direct API","routeType":"first_party","tradeoff":"Direct vendor SDK/REST contract; pair with runner-up for multi-vendor failover."}]},"accountAndQuota":{"freeTierAvailable":false,"freeTierSummary":null,"rateLimitsSummary":"See /api/limits?provider=polar","subscriptionFirstEligible":true,"documentedPlansCount":0},"regions":{"supportedRegions":["global","us","eu"],"multiRegionFailover":true,"euResidencyAvailable":true},"toolSchemaSupport":{"strictJsonSchema":true,"parallelToolCalls":false,"mcpServerAvailable":true,"streamingSupported":true},"latencyTier":{"tier":"standard_1s_to_5s","latencyReliabilityScore":8,"coldStartNotes":"Standard warm pool; check provider SLA for burst concurrency"},"privacyConfig":{"privacyPostureScore":7.8,"zeroDataRetentionAvailable":false,"trainsOnApiDataByDefault":false,"hipaaEligible":false,"selfHostable":true},"availabilityStatus":{"providerStatus":"active","verifiedActiveSkus":1,"unverifiedSkus":0,"liveFailoverTargetId":"stripe"},"subject_ref":{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:polar:Polar Merchant of Record (4% + $0.40 per transaction):self_hosted_or_oss_compatible:global","provider_id":"polar","product_id":"polar-core","model_id":"Polar Merchant of Record (4% + $0.40 per transaction)","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"self_hosted_or_oss_compatible","region":"global","score_status":"unknown","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"},"distinctRouteSubjects":[{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:polar:Polar Merchant of Record (4% + $0.40 per transaction):direct_api:global","provider_id":"polar","product_id":"polar-core","model_id":"Polar Merchant of Record (4% + $0.40 per transaction)","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"direct_api","region":"global","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"}]},{"routeId":"agent-banking-treasury:paddle:primary","roleForJob":"runner_up","provider":{"id":"paddle","slug":"paddle","name":"Paddle","website":"https://www.paddle.com","status":"active"},"model":{"representativeModelId":"Paddle Primary Runtime","skuId":null,"unit":null,"amountUsd":null,"sourceUrl":"https://www.paddle.com","asOf":"2026-10-28"},"servingRoute":{"primaryRouteType":"managed_cloud_service","endpointPattern":"https://www.paddle.com (managed cloud service)","aggregatorAlternatives":[{"aggregatorId":"direct-only","name":"Paddle Direct API","routeType":"first_party","tradeoff":"Direct vendor SDK/REST contract; pair with runner-up for multi-vendor failover."}]},"accountAndQuota":{"freeTierAvailable":false,"freeTierSummary":null,"rateLimitsSummary":"See /api/limits?provider=paddle","subscriptionFirstEligible":true,"documentedPlansCount":0},"regions":{"supportedRegions":["global","us","eu"],"multiRegionFailover":true,"euResidencyAvailable":true},"toolSchemaSupport":{"strictJsonSchema":true,"parallelToolCalls":false,"mcpServerAvailable":false,"streamingSupported":true},"latencyTier":{"tier":"interactive_sub_1s","latencyReliabilityScore":8.8,"coldStartNotes":"Standard warm pool; check provider SLA for burst concurrency"},"privacyConfig":{"privacyPostureScore":8,"zeroDataRetentionAvailable":true,"trainsOnApiDataByDefault":false,"hipaaEligible":false,"selfHostable":false},"availabilityStatus":{"providerStatus":"active","verifiedActiveSkus":0,"unverifiedSkus":0,"liveFailoverTargetId":"stripe"},"subject_ref":{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:paddle:paddle-primary:managed_cloud_service:global","provider_id":"paddle","product_id":"paddle-core","model_id":"paddle-primary","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"managed_cloud_service","region":"global","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"},"distinctRouteSubjects":[{"layer":"runtime_route","subject_id":"runtime_route:paddle:paddle-primary:direct_api:global","provider_id":"paddle","product_id":"paddle-core","model_id":"paddle-primary","version":"2026-10-28","route_class":"direct_api","region":"global","score_status":"layer_evidenced","layer_score":"unknown","inherited_from_parent_layer":false,"inheritance_policy":"no_cross_layer_inheritance"}]}],"depth":{"whenNotToUse":{"text":"Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box; Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer); Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship); Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts. Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them.","source":"editorial `whenNotTopPick` (data/jtbds.json)"},"whenNotToUseReason":null,"runnerUp":{"providerId":"lithic","name":"Lithic","overallForJob":8.75,"pickOverallForJob":8.91,"beatsPickOn":["pricePerformance","privacyPosture","lockInRisk"],"source":"first resolvable entry of the job's editorially ranked `runnersUpIds`; scores are stored job-weighted scores"},"runnerUpReason":null,"lockIn":{"pickLockInRisk":6,"runnerUpLockInRisk":4.5,"scale":"0–10 stored curated estimate; higher = more lock-in (worse)","pickExitSignals":[],"runnerUpExitSignals":[],"pickNotes":[],"selfHostFallback":[],"migration":"Runner-up Lithic has lower stored lock-in risk (4.5 vs 6, 0–10, higher = more lock-in).","migrationReason":null,"derivedFrom":"stored lockInRisk scores, provider tags (oss, self-host, openai-compat, open-models), free rows that list this job, and verbatim provider notes. No migration guide was invented."}},"freshness":{"pick":{"score":{"asOf":"2026-10-28","ageDays":1,"stale":false,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"lastReviewed":{"asOf":"2026-10-28","ageDays":1,"stale":false,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"sourceCheck":{"checkedAt":"2026-10-28","sourceUrls":2,"sourcesReachable":2,"pricingRows":1,"pricingRowsReconfirmed":0,"note":"A source re-check confirms the page is reachable and, for pricing rows, that the stored amount and SKU name appear on it. It does not re-derive or change the score.","reason":null}}},"whenNotTopPickRules":[{"ifConstraint":"escape_hatch_clause_1","recommendedProviderId":"lithic","activeModelOrSku":"lithic-starter-platform","reason":"Mercury API + IO virtual cards when you want a startup operating bank with a read/write REST API and merchant-locked cards out of the box"},{"ifConstraint":"escape_hatch_clause_2","recommendedProviderId":"polar","activeModelOrSku":"polar-mor-fee-base","reason":"Increase when you need direct FedACH/Fedwire/RTP rails and a ledger-grade API (no BaaS middle layer)"},{"ifConstraint":"escape_hatch_clause_3","recommendedProviderId":"polar","activeModelOrSku":"polar-mor-fee-base","reason":"Column when you need a natively chartered developer bank (direct Fed access, own BIN sponsorship)"},{"ifConstraint":"escape_hatch_clause_4","recommendedProviderId":"polar","activeModelOrSku":"polar-mor-fee-base","reason":"Wise Platform for multi-currency accounts and low-spread FX payouts"},{"ifConstraint":"escape_hatch_clause_5","recommendedProviderId":"polar","activeModelOrSku":"polar-mor-fee-base","reason":"Mercury, Increase, Column and Wise are architectural guidance only — they are not rows in the frozen 305-provider catalog, so Depot does not score or price them."}],"bootstrap":{"authType":"api_key","envVars":["STRIPE_SECRET_KEY","STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET"],"signupUrl":"https://dashboard.stripe.com/register","apiKeyUrl":"https://dashboard.stripe.com/apikeys","docsUrl":"https://docs.stripe.com/agents","mcpServer":"npx -y @stripe/mcp --tools=all","cliInit":"stripe login","sdkInstall":{"npm":"npm install stripe @stripe/agent-toolkit","pip":"pip install stripe"},"installCommand":"npm install stripe","activeModelOrSku":"stripe-card-processing-base","canonicalSnippet":"import Stripe from \"stripe\";\nconst stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!);\nconst balance = await stripe.balance.retrieve();","verifyCommand":"curl -sS https://api.stripe.com/v1/balance -u \"$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:\""},"quickstartSpec":{"installCommand":"npm install stripe","envVars":["STRIPE_SECRET_KEY","STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET"],"activeModelOrSku":"stripe-card-processing-base","canonicalSnippet":"import Stripe from \"stripe\";\nconst stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!);\nconst balance = await stripe.balance.retrieve();","sdkInstall":{"npm":"npm install stripe @stripe/agent-toolkit","pip":"pip install stripe"},"verifyCommand":"curl -sS https://api.stripe.com/v1/balance -u \"$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:\"","apiKeyUrl":"https://dashboard.stripe.com/apikeys","docsUrl":"https://docs.stripe.com/agents","mcpServer":"npx -y @stripe/mcp --tools=all","bootstrapReason":null},"operationalGotchas":[{"code":"hidden_spend_tier_gates","severity":"warning","summary":"Fees add up globally","sourceDate":"2026-10-28"},{"code":"hidden_spend_tier_gates","severity":"warning","summary":"Account review risk","sourceDate":"2026-10-28"}],"relatedPacks":[]}