What Found is, in 2026
Found is a US business-banking platform built for self-employed workers and 1099 freelancers, founded in 2019 by Lauren Myrick (CEO) and Connor Dunn (CIO), both formerly at Square. The legal entity is Indie Technologies, Inc. (DBA "Found"), headquartered at 981 Mission Street in San Francisco. Approximately 115 employees per third-party trackers, up from ~40 in 2022. Total funding to date is roughly $119M across Seed through Series C, with the Series C closing July 2024 at a $400M+ valuation (Sequoia, Founders Fund led).
The structural model is partner-bank: customer deposits sit at Lead Bank
(Member FDIC, headquartered in Kansas City, MO) as of October 2025. The pre-October 2025
sponsor was Piermont Bank, a New York state-chartered community bank; Found
migrated to Lead Bank in late 2025 as part of a broader BaaS-sponsor consolidation that
followed the 2024 Synapse fallout. The legacy Piermont terms of service are still hosted at
/legal/piermont-account-terms, which suggests per-customer cutover may not be
uniform — pre-migration accounts should be verified in-app to confirm rails have moved.
The workflow loop is the structural feature: deposit lands → user-defined percentage routes to Taxes Pocket → quarterly federal estimator computes the liability → in-app federal payment closes the cycle. Lili shares the surface; Found is the tighter loop for higher-balance operators.
At a glance
Who Found is for: US 1099 freelancers, sole proprietors, single- and multi-member LLCs, S-corps, C-corps, and limited partnerships. The structural fit is tightest for solopreneurs whose income volume justifies Pro at $80/mo — i.e., operating balances above ~$32,000 where the uncapped 2.5% APY plus 1% card cashback recovers the subscription cost before the tax-workflow benefits compound on top.
Who to avoid Found for: operators needing FDIC pass-through above $250,000 (no sweep — Mercury, Bluevine, Lili, and Relay all offer multi-bank sweep alternatives); international wires (Found supports outgoing domestic only); state estimated-tax payments in-app (federal only); high-yield seekers with balances under $20K (Found Plus caps yield at $20K, while Lili Core offers tiered savings APY on free); cash-heavy businesses (Green Dot Network workaround required).
Safety in one sentence: deposits sit at Lead Bank with the standard $250,000 FDIC pass-through ceiling — no multi-bank sweep program, which means operators with balances above $250K need supplemental banking relationships for the excess.
Bank structure & deposit protection
Indie Technologies, Inc. is not a chartered bank. It is a financial-technology company operating a 1099-native business-banking experience on top of Lead Bank, a Missouri state-chartered commercial bank (Member FDIC, headquartered in Kansas City). The FDIC counterparty for customer deposits is Lead Bank, not Found — a structural distinction that matters in the rare scenario where Indie Technologies were to enter financial distress as a corporate entity. Customer deposits would remain accessible because they are titled at Lead Bank in the customer’s name or in an FBO custodial account titled for the customer’s benefit.
The deposit ceiling is the standard $250,000 per depositor per ownership category at Lead Bank. Found does not operate a multi-bank sweep program — unlike Mercury (IntraFi network up to $5M), Bluevine (Coastal Community Bank sweep up to $3M), Lili (Sunrise Banks sweep up to $3M), or Relay (Thread Bank Insured Cash Sweep up to $3M). This is the single biggest structural caveat for higher-balance solopreneurs: an operating balance above $250K requires either a separate banking relationship for the excess, or a competitor with sweep coverage.
The sponsor migration matters. Found moved from Piermont Bank to Lead Bank in October 2025. Piermont, a NY state-chartered bank with approximately $700M in total assets, was a smaller BaaS sponsor; the migration to Lead Bank (a larger and post-Synapse compliance-hardened BaaS book in Kansas City) is structurally credit-positive. The legacy Piermont terms are still hosted on Found’s site, suggesting some customer-specific cutover timing may not be uniform — pre-migration customers should verify in-app that their rails have moved to Lead Bank before relying on the current FDIC and account-agreement terms.
The Synapse footnote. Found was not a Synapse customer. Found contracted directly with Piermont Bank pre-migration and now with Lead Bank — neither relationship sat behind Synapse middleware. The May 2024 Synapse bankruptcy froze customer balances at middleware-dependent fintechs like Yotta and Juno; Found balances were structurally insulated. The 2024 BaaS regulatory wave that followed Synapse did motivate Found’s migration to Lead Bank, but no customer-funds incident at Found was publicly reported.
SSN is required for KYC even with EIN on file. The USA PATRIOT Act and FinCEN beneficial-ownership rules force individual-level identification regardless of entity type. Operators expecting EIN-only signup will be stopped at the SSN gate; this is universal across US partner-bank fintechs but worth noting since Found targets the 1099 ICP where EIN-only expectations are common.
The fee schedule
Found runs a three-tier subscription. The free Found tier covers checking, Mastercard debit, Pockets sub-accounts, tax auto-set-aside, basic bookkeeping, and invoicing — paid tiers layer on APY, priority phone support, and (at Pro) cashback plus a metal card. The Pockets product is capped at 10 total (2 default + up to 8 custom) across all tiers.
| Item | Found | Plus ($19.99/mo) | Pro ($80/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $0 | $19.99 ($149.99/yr) | $80 ($720/yr) |
| APY (variable) | 0% | 1.50% on first $20K | 2.50% on all balances, no cap |
| Card cashback | — | — | 1% unlimited on debit |
| Debit card | Standard plastic | Standard plastic | Metal card (one per account) |
| Pockets | 2 default + up to 8 custom | 2 default + up to 8 custom | 2 default + up to 8 custom |
| Tax auto-set-aside | Included | Included | Included |
| Schedule C generation | Included | Included | Included |
| In-app federal tax payments | — | Included | Included |
| Priority phone support | — | M-F 8a-5p PT | M-F 8a-5p PT |
| Multi-business (up to 5) | — | — | Included |
| Outgoing domestic wire | $15 | $15 | $10 |
| Incoming wire | Free | Free | Free |
| International wire | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported |
| Cash deposits | Via Green Dot (up to $4.95 retailer fee) | Via Green Dot | Via Green Dot |
The Plus → Pro decision is genuinely binary at ~$32K balance. Below $32K, Plus’s 1.5% on the first $20K plus phone support is the right tier; above $32K, Pro’s uncapped 2.5% on all balances recovers the $60/mo price differential through APY alone, with the 1% cashback and metal card layered on top. Operators who run business spend through the debit card heavily (the 1% cashback compounds on every transaction) hit Pro’s breakeven faster than the yield-only math suggests.
Hands-on notes
Signup is 100% mobile or web, no in-branch step. Required artefacts: legal entity type, EIN or SSN, business mailing address, and beneficial-owner SSN for KYC (USA PATRIOT Act / FinCEN 25%-or-more rule). EIN-only signup is not supported. Eligible entities include sole proprietors, single- and multi-member LLCs, S-corps, C-corps, and limited partnerships — broader than Lili (which excludes C-corps and B-corps).
The Taxes Pocket workflow is the structural UX win. Every deposit can be split by a user-defined percentage into the Taxes Pocket — typically 25-30% for a 1099 freelancer in a moderate-tax state. Found computes estimated self-employment tax in real time, surfaces the projected quarterly federal liability, and on Plus and Pro tiers supports in-app federal estimated-tax payments directly to the IRS. State estimated payments still require an external portal — a structural gap for operators in high-tax states (CA, NY, MA, OR).
Bookkeeping auto-categorizes transactions against IRS expense lines mapped to Schedule C; the custom-rules layer (unlimited on Plus and Pro) lets operators tag transactions for industry specificity. The Schedule C pre-fill at tax time reads from the bookkeeping ledger so the customer reviews and exports rather than re-typing. 1099-NEC generation for contractors is included on all tiers, as is W-9 collection from contractors and direct payment from the Found balance.
Pockets are virtual sub-account spaces (not separate FDIC-mapped sub-accounts) — the cap is 10 total per Found account. For operators wanting more granular envelope architecture (e.g., Profit First with Income / Profit / Owner’s Pay / Tax / OpEx), Relay’s 20 real checking accounts under one login is the structural fit; Found’s 10-Pocket model is sufficient for simpler bucketing but not for full Profit First implementation.
Friction points in actual usage: phone support is a paid-tier entitlement (free users get email-first triage); state estimated tax payments require an external portal; international wires are not supported; cash deposits route through the Green Dot Network at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. with retailer fees up to $4.95 per deposit ($3.74 at Walmart). Account-freeze risk follows the same pattern as other partner-bank fintechs — deposit and spend activity that looks "consumer" under the account agreement can trigger holds. App ratings are strong (iOS 4.8★, Android 4.6★ per third-party reviews), but Trustpilot aggregate data is not as widely available for Found as for Bluevine or Mercury.
Plan & tier comparison
Found’s tier structure is APY-paywalled, which is the line that separates Found from Lili. The free tier is genuinely usable as a primary account (checking + tax auto-set-aside + Schedule C + invoicing + contractor payments + 1099-NEC generation), but APY only starts at the Plus tier and reaches its uncapped form at Pro.
| Feature | Found (free) | Found Plus | Found Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | $19.99 ($149.99/yr) | $80 ($720/yr) |
| APY | 0% | 1.50% on first $20K only | 2.50% uncapped |
| 1% card cashback | — | — | Yes |
| Metal debit card | — | — | Yes |
| Multi-business (up to 5) | — | — | Yes |
| Outgoing domestic wire | $15 | $15 | $10 |
| FDIC pass-through | $250K single-bank (Lead Bank) | $250K single-bank | $250K single-bank |
| Pockets (sub-accounts) | Up to 10 | Up to 10 | Up to 10 |
| Tax workflow (Pocket + Schedule C + 1099-NEC) | Included | Included | Included |
| In-app federal tax payment | — | Yes | Yes |
| Priority phone support | Email only | Yes | Yes |
The Plus tier’s $20K APY cap is the most-missed line in third-party Found reviews. Plus pays 1.50% APY only on the first $20,000 of balance — above $20K, Plus customers earn 0% on the excess. Operators with stable operating balances above $20K should either move to Pro (2.5% uncapped) or hold the excess at a separate high-yield brokerage account. The breakeven from Plus to Pro on yield alone is approximately $32,000: at that balance, the $60/mo price differential between Plus and Pro is recovered by the 1% uncapped APY delta.
Caveats
$250K FDIC ceiling — no sweep. Operators with operating-cash balances above $250K need supplemental banking relationships or a competitor with sweep coverage (Mercury $5M, Bluevine $3M, Lili $3M, Relay $3M). Found is the only partner-bank fintech in this cohort that caps at the standard single-bank FDIC ceiling.
Sponsor migration (Piermont → Lead Bank, October 2025). Legacy Piermont customers should verify their rails have moved before relying on Lead Bank account terms. Found has not publicly disclosed per-customer cutover timing; the legacy Piermont terms are still hosted on the site, which suggests some accounts may still be on Piermont rails.
Free tier earns 0% APY. Lili Core (free) pays 2.25% APY on the first $500K; Relay Starter (free) pays 0.91% APY; Mercury Standard (free) gives access to Treasury yield via a brokerage account. Found is the only partner-bank fintech in this cohort whose free tier pays nothing on operating balances.
Plus APY capped at $20K. The $20K cap on Plus’s 1.50% APY is the awkward structural constraint: a $50K operating balance earns 1.50% on the first $20K and 0% on the next $30K, yielding an effective rate of 0.60% on the whole balance. Pro’s uncapped 2.50% on the same $50K balance yields 2.50% — meaningful for any solopreneur with stable balances above the Plus cap.
International wires are not supported. Found supports outgoing domestic wires only. Operators with international clients or vendors need a separate Wise / Mercury / Bluevine surface for cross-border flows.
State estimated tax payments require an external portal. The in-app federal payment is structurally clean — direct to the IRS from Found. State estimated payments still need a state-portal or accountant flow. Operators in CA, NY, MA, OR (or any state with quarterly estimated-tax requirements) will need both surfaces.
Phone support is a paid-tier entitlement. Free Found users get email-first triage. Plus and Pro unlock M-F 8am-5pm PT priority phone support. This is the line that pushes the free-to-Plus upgrade for operators who value response-time SLAs.
Found vs. Lili vs. Mercury
The closest structural competitors are Lili (1099-native, Sunrise Banks sponsor, $3M sweep) and Mercury (US-incorporated startups, multi-sponsor IntraFi sweep, $5M). The three solve overlapping but distinct problems; the right pick depends on balance scale and entity type.
Found vs. Lili. Both target 1099 freelancers with checking + tax + bookkeeping. Found has $250K single-bank FDIC; Lili has $3M sweep. Found supports C-corps that Lili does not; Lili supports more LLC and partnership variants. Found Pro adds 1% card cashback and a metal card; Lili has no equivalent. APY breakeven: a $30K-balance operator pays Found Pro $80/mo to earn 2.5% on the whole balance ($750/year gross), or Lili Core $0 to earn 2.25% on the same balance ($675/year gross) — Lili’s free tier wins on net for under-$500K balances. Found Pro wins when the 1% cashback compounds with debit-card spend or when the operator runs multi-business and needs the up-to-5-businesses Pro entitlement.
Found vs. Mercury. Mercury is structurally cleaner for US-incorporated startups: $5M sweep, Treasury yield via Apex Clearing brokerage, and API access on the IO tier. Found is structurally cleaner for the 1099 solopreneur — the tax workflow loop is purpose-built rather than retrofitted. Mercury onboards Delaware C-Corps as its default ICP; Found accepts C-corps but does not specialize in the venture-funded-startup pattern. For a YC-pattern Delaware C-Corp with API needs, Mercury wins; for a 1099 freelancer who needs the tax workflow with optional yield, Found Pro is the right seat.
FAQ
- Is Found a bank?
- No. Found is operated by Indie Technologies, Inc. — a fintech, not a chartered bank. Deposits sit at Lead Bank (Member FDIC, Kansas City, MO) as of October 2025; pre-migration accounts were on Piermont Bank rails.
- Who is Found’s sponsor bank in 2026?
- Lead Bank, headquartered in Kansas City, MO. Found migrated to Lead Bank in October 2025; prior sponsor was Piermont Bank (NY state-chartered). Legacy Piermont terms are still published on Found’s site, suggesting per-customer cutover may not be uniform.
- What is Found’s FDIC pass-through limit?
- $250,000 per depositor at Lead Bank — the standard single-bank ceiling. Found does not operate a multi-bank sweep program, unlike Mercury, Bluevine, Lili, or Relay.
- What APY does Found pay?
- 0% on the free Found tier; 1.50% APY on the first $20K only on Plus ($19.99/mo); 2.50% APY uncapped on Pro ($80/mo). Pro also adds 1% card cashback and a metal debit card.
- How does Found’s tax auto-set-aside work?
- Every deposit can be split by a user-defined percentage into a Taxes Pocket. Found computes estimated federal self-employment tax in real time; Plus and Pro support in-app federal estimated-tax payments. State estimated payments require an external portal.
- Was Found affected by the Synapse collapse?
- No. Found contracted directly with Piermont Bank (pre-Oct 2025) and now with Lead Bank — neither relationship was Synapse-dependent. The October 2025 migration to Lead Bank consolidated Found into a post-Synapse compliance-hardened sponsor.
- How does Found compare with Lili?
- Both target 1099 freelancers. Lili has $3M FDIC via sweep and tiered APY on all tiers including free; Found has $250K single-bank FDIC and APY paywalled to Plus/Pro. Lili supports more LLC variants; Found accepts C-corps. Found Pro adds 1% cashback + metal card.
Who Found is for
Use Found if you are a US 1099 freelancer, sole proprietor, single- or multi-member LLC, S-corp, C-corp, or limited partnership; if Schedule C is your primary tax filing surface; and if operating balances justify Pro at $80/mo for the uncapped 2.5% APY plus 1% card cashback — breakeven is approximately $32K. The free tier is usable as a primary account for solopreneurs whose tax stack lives elsewhere, but the yield-paywalled structure means free Found earns 0% on operating cash.
Use Lili, Mercury, Bluevine, or Relay instead if you need >$250K FDIC pass-through (Found has no sweep); if you want APY on the free tier (Lili Core pays tiered savings APY on free); if you need state estimated-tax payments in-app (Found supports federal only); if you need international wires (Found supports domestic only); or if you need the Profit-First multi-checking envelope architecture (Relay’s 20 checking accounts is the structural fit).
References
Primary-source list, with capture date 2026-05-11. Found’s pricing surface, the sponsor-bank migration status, and the Plus/Pro APY structure re-price periodically; operators treating these figures as load-bearing should re-verify against the source URLs at decision time.
- Found — Pricing page (Found / Plus / Pro)
- Found — Lead Bank partnership announcement (Oct 2025 sponsor migration)
- Found — Lead Bank Terms of Service (current sponsor agreement)
- Found — Piermont Bank legacy terms (prior sponsor pre-Oct 2025)
- Found — Help: Found Plus cost ($19.99/mo, $149.99/yr, 1.5% APY ≤ $20K)
- Found — Help: What is Found Pro ($80/mo, 2.5% uncapped, 1% cashback, metal card)
- Found — Pockets product page (2 default + up to 8 custom)
- Found — Taxes page (Schedule C / 1099-NEC / 1120-S generation)
- Found — Help: send a wire ($15 outgoing, $10 Pro)
- Found — Help: why SSN required for KYC
- TechCrunch — Found launches ($12.75M seed from Sequoia, May 2021)
- Contrary Research — Found company profile (~$119M total raised, Series C $400M+ valuation, ~115 employees)
- Found — Series C announcement (July 2024)
- Green Dot Network — cash deposit fees and limits
- FDIC — General Counsel’s opinion 8: pass-through deposit insurance
FDIC pass-through coverage is per partner bank, not per fintech. If you hold funds at multiple Chime-style fintechs that share the same partner bank, your $250,000 FDIC limit aggregates across those balances. Crypto holdings, brokerage cash awaiting investment, and overdraft-protection lines are NOT FDIC-insured — verify product type before assuming cover. Reg E provides limited-liability rights for unauthorised electronic-fund transfers when reported within the statutory window.
Premium plans
- Free — checking + tax auto-set-aside + invoicing + bookkeeping
- 1.50% APY on first $20K balance; priority phone support; receipt scanning. $149.99 annual.
- 2.50% APY uncapped; 1% card cashback; metal card; $10 outgoing wire fee. $720 annual.