Learn how vbank works

Is my money FDIC insured?

Accounts opened through vbank are held at Column, a nationally chartered bank, so deposits are FDIC insured up to the standard limits.

How does identity verification work?

Every account opener — and every beneficial owner, control person, trustee, or grantor on a business or trust account — completes a Plaid identity verification (a government ID plus a selfie) with Watchlist Screening against government sanctions lists. Only the data Plaid cryptographically verifies is ever sent to Column; nothing you type into a form is used to open the account directly.

What account types are supported?

Individual, business (LLC, corporation, partnership, and more), and trust accounts. Business accounts require verifying each beneficial owner and control person; trust accounts require verifying each trustee and, optionally, the grantor.

How do loans work?

Personal and business loans — term loans or revolving lines of credit — attach to an account you've already opened, so there's no separate identity check to apply. Approval and terms are set by Column's lending program.

How Vitez Bank works with Column

Vitez Bank isn't a bank — Column, N.A. is. Column is a nationally chartered bank, regulated the same way any bank is, and it's Column that actually holds your deposits, issues your account and routing numbers, and moves your money. Vitez Bank is the software layer on top: the app you use, the identity verification flow, the dashboard — all built to give you a better day-to-day experience than most banks offer directly, while the money itself sits somewhere fully regulated.

This split is common across modern banking apps — very few consumer-facing fintechs hold a bank charter themselves, since chartering and running a bank is a completely different (and heavily regulated) business from building good software. Instead, they partner with a chartered bank like Column, the same way Vitez Bank does.

Who actually holds my money?

Column does. Your account — individual, business, or trust — is opened directly in your name at Column, N.A. Vitez Bank never takes custody of your funds or routes them through an account of its own; every balance, transfer, and account number you see in the Vitez Bank app reflects what's actually on Column's books.

Is my money FDIC insured?

Yes. Because your account is held at Column, N.A., Member FDIC, deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category — the same standard FDIC coverage as any bank account, not something Vitez Bank provides or guarantees itself.

Who's responsible for what?

Column holds your funds, provides your account and routing numbers, and handles the regulated banking infrastructure — transfers, FDIC insurance, and the underlying ledger. Vitez Bank builds the product you actually use: the app, the sign-up flow, identity verification (via Plaid), and day-to-day account management. Both are held to real compliance obligations — Column as the chartered bank, and Vitez Bank as its technology partner, subject to Column's own oversight of how the partnership operates.