Neobank Market Mapy by Artemis

What looks like a single consumer app is actually a multi-layer financial architecture.

At the top: the customer interface.

At the bottom: regulated banking, settlement rails, and liquidity.

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Everything in between is modular infrastructure.

A simplified way to read the stack:

1. Application Layer — Distribution

This is where users interact with the product.

Three main models are emerging:

- Fiat-first neobanks: Monzo, Chime, Nubank, Wise, PayPal

- Super apps: Cash App, Revolut, Coinbase, Robinhood

- Crypto-native financial apps: Phantom, Jupiter, Fuse

These companies compete on UX, distribution, and ecosystem expansion, not on core banking infrastructure.

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2. Product Feature Layer — Financial Services

Most user-facing features are provided by specialized providers.

Key modules include:

- Payments & money movement: Stripe, Plaid, Dwolla, Circle, Tether

- Savings / yield infrastructure: Aave, Lido, Morphos

- Credit & lending: Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay

Neobanks assemble these capabilities rather than building them from scratch.

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3. Distribution & Identity Layer

Compliance and identity are critical control points.

Two parallel systems now exist:

Traditional fintech stack:

- Alloy

- Persona

- Sardine

- Unit21

- Hawk

Crypto-native compliance stack:

- Chainalysis

- TRM Labs

- Elliptic

Identity and fraud infrastructure increasingly determines who can access the financial system.

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4. Core Infrastructure

This is where the real banking logic lives.

Key categories:

- Core banking and ledgers: Mambu, Finxact, Temenos

- Banking-as-a-service: Unit, Synctera, Treasury Prime

- Card issuance and processing: Marqeta, Lithic, Stripe Issuing

Most neobanks rely on these providers to operate.

5. Settlement and Charter Layer

At the base of the stack sit the regulated entities and settlement rails.

This includes:

- Chartered banks: Evolve Bank, The Bancorp, Cross River

- Deposit and stablecoin issuers: Paxos, Circle

- Settlement networks: Fedwire, FedNow, SWIFT

- Blockchain rails: Ethereum, Solana, Base, TRON, BNB Chain

This layer ultimately controls liquidity, custody, and settlement finality.

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Key structural insight

The neobank market is not a single industry. It is a five-layer infrastructure stack:

- Apps (distribution)

- Financial features (services)

- Identity & compliance

- Core banking infrastructure

- Settlement and charter

The competitive battle is shifting. Early neobanks competed on UI and growth. The next phase will be determined by who controls the infrastructure layers underneath.

Distribution wins users. Infrastructure captures the economics.

Insights by Artemis