On July 31, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) announced that it would begin accepting applications for national bank charters from FinTech entities that satisfy the licensing requirements for national associations but do not take deposits. The general requirements for special purpose banks other than those engaged in fiduciary activities are set forth in 12 CFR 5.20(e)(1),and include receiving deposits, paying checks, or lending money. Given the exclusion of deposit taking, to obtain a special charter of the type now authorized, a FinTech company must persuade the OCC that it engages in an activity that can be treated as equivalent to paying checks or lending money.

The novelty of this special charter does not, however, obviate the need to consider the OCC’s otherwise standard licensing practices. In its Policy Statement on Financial Technology Companies’ Eligibility to Apply for National Bank Charters, the OCC has confirmed that existing chartering standards and procedures will apply to applications by FinTech entities and that the OCC will consider “whether a proposed bank has a reasonable chance of success, will be operated in a safe and sound manner, will provide fair access to financial services, will treat customers fairly, and will comply with applicable laws and regulations.”