Erebor API-First High-Touch Bank

The lack of a public signup flow shows Erebor is growing like a private placement, not a self serve fintech. Deposits are being gathered through founder, investor, and customer networks first, which fits a bank targeting only 500 to 600 large startups with roughly $200K of revenue per customer. That is the opposite of Mercury’s broad online funnel and closer to a relationship bank using software and APIs to deepen a small set of very large accounts.

• Mercury makes growth visible on the homepage with a live online application, because its model depends on acquiring many startups at lower revenue per customer. Erebor can skip that funnel because its customers are fewer, larger, and often introduced through overlapping VC and defense tech networks.
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• Column shows the infrastructure end of the market, where customers integrate APIs to open accounts and move money for their own users. Erebor was built with the same programmable banking layer from day 1, so a closed front door does not mean limited distribution, it means distribution can happen through partners, sales, and embedded workflows instead of website traffic.
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• This also changes the deposit mix. Erebor reached $4.6B in deposits while serving only hundreds of companies, and its own company page flags concentration risk from a small number of large accounts. A public signup form would add volume, but the current model is optimized for large balances per customer, not maximum account count.
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The next step is likely selective opening, not mass market onboarding. As Erebor adds more API driven payment and treasury customers, the website becomes less a marketing funnel and more a trust layer around a high touch bank that can win both direct operating accounts and embedded financial flows.