IntraFi
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Former federal banking regulators |
| Headquarters | Arlington, Virginia , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Mark Jacobsen (co-founder and CEO) |
| Products | FDIC-insured deposit placement solutions (ICS, CDARS, IntraFi Sweep) |
IntraFi, LLC—previously known as Promontory Interfinancial Network—is a privately owned financial services company that connects over 3,000 institutions, encompassing approximately 75% of all commercial banks and thrifts in the United States. Its membership comprises 23 of the nation’s top 25 banks along with 95% of community banks. The firm’s main office is located in Arlington, Virginia.
History
Established in 2002 by former federal banking regulators with the goal of improving the safety of large deposits, IntraFi collaborates with Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) to provide issuance, custody, settlement, and recordkeeping functions. The organization has earned recognition as a leading workplace by the Washington Post in 2018, 2021, and 2023, and has been acknowledged by American Banker as one of the best fintech employers, securing first place in both 2018 and 2021.
Mark Jacobsen, co-founder and CEO—who previously served as chief of staff at the FDIC—holds thirteen patents connected to IntraFi’s FDIC-insured deposit placement solutions. The company adopted the IntraFi Network name in 2020.
Through its network, IntraFi allows member institutions to provide clients with access to aggregated FDIC insurance coverage reaching millions by distributing funds among demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit at participating banks. Its exclusive reciprocal deposits system facilitates fund exchanges between banks based on their deposit or funding requirements, enabling depositors to achieve FDIC protection beyond the $250,000 threshold within a single banking relationship. This service gained significant attention during the financial turmoil of 2008 and again in 2023 amid regional bank failures that underscored the vulnerabilities associated with large uninsured deposits.
In June 2024, IntraFi collaborated with the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA) and National Bankers Association (NBA) to introduce the Advancing Communities Together (ACT) initiative, designed to boost deposit inflows at banks serving underserved populations.
Services
IntraFi offers FDIC-insured deposit placement solutions such as ICS (IntraFi Cash Service), CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service), and IntraFi Sweep (previously known as IntraFi Network Deposits).
These offerings utilize IntraFi’s proprietary reciprocal deposit technology, permitting depositors to secure millions in combined FDIC coverage through a single banking relationship. Deposits are segmented into core deposits below the $250,000 insurance cap either as deposit accounts via ICS or certificates of deposit through CDARS, then allocated among a network of financially strong and well-managed banks.
The IntraFi Sweep service enables broker-dealers and fintech firms to automatically move idle cash balances from customer brokerage accounts into interest-bearing deposit accounts at FDIC-insured banks and savings associations. These financial institutions—whether affiliated with the broker-dealer or not—receive this cash as wholesale funding.
Furthermore, IntraFi produces a quarterly business outlook survey targeting banks and hosts the weekly podcast Banking With Interest, which features prominent industry figures including Gary Cohn, Mark Cuban, Randal Quarles, Tom Emmer, Michael Hsu, and Esther George.