Frequently asked questions
Jiko keeps client cash invested in T-bills, in the client's name, earning the “risk-free” rate of T-bills, with no lending, no leverage, and no commingled exposure. Payments can settle 24/7 on JikoNet, with no balance sheet risk. Jiko clients include institutions that move at the speed of modern markets — corporates, fintechs, tech, and crypto companies — giving them and their counterparts a safe, yield-generating alternative to managing cash. Jiko holds a national bank charter and is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer.
Jiko Pockets are T-bill-backed operating accounts designed for enterprise liquidity. Each Pocket combines a bank account at Jiko Bank and a brokerage account at Jiko Securities, Inc. This architecture enables seamless payment functionality via standard payment rails, while programmatically investing balances into U.S. Treasury bills on behalf of clients.
Behind the scenes, Jiko automatically manages investment in T-bills upon arrival, reinvestment at maturity, and liquidation as soon as a transaction is initiated. Clients access the safety and yield of U.S. Treasury bills without sacrificing liquidity. Because funds are held in Treasury bills directly, there is no exposure to bank counterparty risk or fund commingling.
Within Jiko’s platform, clients can configure multiple Pockets to isolate specific operating reserves, payroll lines, or project funds while maintaining central visibility and administrative control in one consolidated system.
You can learn more about the differences between JikoStore and JikoPay pockets here.
T-bill agents power Jiko Pockets by acting as an autonomous entity that continuously keeps cash invested in T-bills, monitors balances, liquidates positions, and supports payments, 24/7.
A T-bill agent is not a human trader, nor is it an AI agent. T-bill agents represent the automated system within Jiko’s platform that manages client Treasury bill holdings behind the scenes, and makes it possible for your cash to stay invested and earn yield while remaining fully liquid and ready for payments without manual trading or intervention.
JikoNet is Jiko’s real-time settlement network designed to enable institutions to move large volumes of US dollars securely, 24/7, while minimizing counterparty and liquidity risks and earning yield up until the moment of the transaction.
JikoNet facilitates instant transactions between Jiko Pockets. When a transfer is initiated, JikoNet automatically liquidates the sender's T-bills, transfers the funds using a ledger transfer at Jiko Bank, and reinvests them into T-bills for the recipient, all in real time.
Key Benefits:
Transact at any time, including weekends and off-peak hours, without exposure to traditional banking delays or balance sheet risks.
Funds remain invested in U.S. Treasury bills before and after transactions, ensuring that cash is never idle and always earning the risk-free rate.
As a regulated national bank and broker-dealer, Jiko ensures that all users and transactions have the proper regulatory oversight.
Yes. In 2020, Jiko acquired a national bank charter, becoming one of the first fintech firms to own and operate a national bank (Jiko Bank, a division of Mid-Central National Bank).
Fintech providers have historically built on top of existing bank infrastructure to offer financial products — an approach that can create operational friction and counterparty dependencies. By owning both a nationally chartered bank and a registered broker-dealer (each integrated with Jiko’s technology stack), Jiko can control and optimize the entire banking experience and reduce counterparty risk. This vertically integrated model combines direct access to U.S. Treasury bills, traded and held at Jiko Securities, Inc., with banking rails at Jiko Bank to deliver transactional capabilities for clients, with transparency and oversight from regulators. Jiko chose this rigorous approach to ensure safe and sustainable innovation in the banking space.
Jiko is a nationally regulated bank, but operates a de-levered, alternative deposit model that keeps clients free from balance sheet risks while maintaining the same functionality as a traditional bank account. Rather than lending out deposits or holding them on the balance sheet, Jiko provides direct ownership of U.S. Treasury bills, giving clients an optimal combination of safety, yield, and liquidity without exposure to unnecessary counterparty risk.
Jiko’s banking infrastructure was built from the ground up, giving Jiko the ability to operate with modern agility and a privacy-first approach. The result is a platform that replaces legacy complexity with a transparent, secure, and programmatic way to store and move cash.
At its core, Jiko replaces outdated infrastructure with a safer, more direct approach designed to meet the needs of modern treasury teams.
Money Market Funds (MMFs) pool client assets and invest in a mix of short-term instruments, some of which may carry counterparty risk. Investors own shares in the fund, not the underlying assets, which introduces added layers of risk, management fees, and limited transparency.
With Jiko, clients own U.S. Treasury bills directly, in their name, through a regulated bank and broker-dealer. There are no fund wrappers, no hidden counterparties, and no unnecessary intermediaries between clients and their funds.
For treasurers looking to store cash while optimizing for safety, yield, and liquidity, the experience may feel similar to a Money Market Fund, but Jiko offers a key advantage: clients can access cash and make payments just like a traditional bank account, staying invested in T-bills and earning yield until the moment of the transaction or withdrawal.
Want a deeper comparison? Read our blog on the risks of MMFs vs. T-bills.
Buying T-bills directly through traditional brokerage channels requires manually selecting individual bills, tracking maturities, and reinvesting proceeds. Liquidating a position before maturity often requires placing a trade during market hours, and cash can take time to settle before it's usable.
With Jiko, this is fully automated end-to-end. Deposits are immediately invested in T-bills, and maturing proceeds are reinvested automatically. Clients can initiate a withdrawal or payment at any time, and Jiko’s platform automatically liquidates the nearest-maturity bills to cover the amount of the transaction.
Bank sweep programs, IntraFi, and ICS networks spread a client’s cash across a network of participating banks, with each bank holding a portion as a deposit, typically to keep exposure to any single bank under the FDIC insurance limit. The client still holds a deposit claim against each of those underlying banks, and that claim is only as good as each bank’s own solvency.
At Jiko, client funds are invested directly in U.S. Treasury bills, held in the client’s name and identifiable by CUSIP, rather than held as a deposit on any bank’s balance sheet. Because there are no deposits sitting on a balance sheet, FDIC insurance limits simply do not apply, and bank counterparty risk is eliminated, rather than spread across a larger network of banks.
Additionally, clients get full visibility into the exact T-bills they hold, with real-time yield based on those actual holdings, rather than a blended rate set across a sweep network’s participating banks.
Jiko serves a broad range of clients looking for a safer, more efficient way to store and move cash. Corporate treasurers and finance teams use Jiko Pockets to manage operating and idle funds with safety, simplicity, and liquidity.
Financial institutions and fintechs can also integrate with Jiko’s infrastructure via APIs, offering Jiko Pockets as part of their own commercial or retail product experiences.
For general inquiries, please contact info@jiko.com.
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Business clients can email account.support@jiko.com for support or information
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API partners can reach the partner support team by emailing partner.support@jiko.com
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