What New Bank Charters Mean For Fintech

This article by partner Mark Nuccio and associates Gideon Blatt and Stephanie Ragland was published by Law360 on October 11, 2018.

Following the Office of the Comptroller of Currency's July issuance of a policy statement¹ and supplement to its licensing manual² relating to special-purpose national charters for non-deposit-taking financial technology companies that are engaged in the business of banking, as well as the U.S. Treasury Department's support in its July report,³ fintech firms across the country are looking into what this process entails and the potential benefits accompanying a special-purpose national bank charter.

The special-purpose fintech charter is designed to incentivize innovation by allowing fintech firms to operate on a national scale, like other national banks, without having to obtain 50 state licenses and navigate each state's unique regulatory scheme. As Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting stated, "Companies that provide