Founded: 2016

Products: Jiko Money Storage is available directly via commercial and retail accounts, and embeddable through APIs.

Overview: Jiko is a vertically integrated financial institution that offers real-time programmatic access to US Treasury bills (T-bills) – an asset class that it says offers competitive yield and safety, but for which traditional access can be costly and opaque. The solution is pitched as a complement to other money storage options.

In addition to T-bill investments being backed by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the US Treasury (which also backstops FDIC and NCUSIF insurance on cash deposits), they are also fully paid for and held in a segregated custody account at BNY Mellon.

Jiko blends the payment technology of its national bank with the proprietary trading and ledgering technology of its registered broker-dealer. This enables clients to deploy cash into T-bill maturities of their choosing (currently 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-months) without having to hire traders or use brokerage interfaces. Its flagship Money Storage product is used to deploy cash into T-bills and map out liquidity needs.

Jiko became a bank holding company by acquiring Mid-Central National Bank in 2020, a deal that was approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Jiko’s operations comply with the same regulations as all other US financial institutions, including oversight from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the OCC.

Partners: Public, Euphoria

Employees: 62

Funding: Series B

Ownership: Privately held and venture-backed. A Series B round of funding was announced in October 2022.

Elevator pitch: “Jiko is a vertically integrated financial institution which combines the stability of a national bank and registered broker-dealer with modern trading and ledgering technology to offer its clients real-time programmatic access to the yield and safety of T-bills. While preserving on-demand liquidity, cash is invested in the safety of T-bills on behalf of the customer, which are securely held at the biggest custody bank in the country. Jiko’s mission is to deliver a premier global money-storage platform, providing all customers with risk-free returns on their balances while allowing 24/7 instant payments and transfers.”

Website: Jiko.io

TMI view: The platform offers a fully integrated means of buying, storing, and spending T-bills as a source of secure and on-demand liquidity.

Verdict: A simple means of accessing T-bills and using them as a complementary cash source.