38 applications tracked since the OCC reopened de novo chartering. Most are national trust banks — custody and stablecoin settlement under one federal supervisor instead of fifty state licences — not deposit-taking banks. Each row is a sponsor-bank relationship that ends the day the charter opens.
| Company | Proposed bank | Charter | Status | Filed | Decision | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain National Trust Bank | National trust bank OCC | Application filed | 2026-10-06 | pending | Uninsured, non-depository national trust bank to provide fiduciary custody of digital assets and dollars for institutional clients, manage stablecoin issuer reserves, and issue/redeem USD-backed stablecoins — would not accept deposits or make commercial loans. Brandon Soto, CPA (former Square Financial Services president) proposed as President and CEO. Rain leadership: "The institutions we serve, and the people who use their products, want the custody, reserves, and issuance behind stablecoin payments held by a fiduciary that answers to a federal regulator." | |
| Modern Treasury National Trust Bank | National trust bank OCC | Application filed | 2026-10-05 | pending | Uninsured, non-depository national trust bank to unify digital-asset custody with Modern Treasury's existing payments/settlement platform, letting customers custody and move stablecoins and fiat through one infrastructure — explicitly would not make loans or issue stablecoins itself. CEO Matt Marcus: "We believe stablecoins are foundational economic infrastructure for the future." Modern Treasury's software/PSP business continues operating separately regardless of the outcome. | |
| Bastion Platforms Trust Company, LLC → Bastion Platforms National Trust Company New York, NY | Conversion to national bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-03-30 | 2026-09-18 Corporate Decision 1391 | Converts Bastion's trust company to a national trust bank for stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure and white-label stablecoin issuance for enterprises. | |
| Catena Trust Bank, N.A. New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-05-18 | 2026-09-18 Corporate Decision 1392 | Custody, conversion, clearing and payment services for AI agents — GENIUS Act stablecoins, fiat and securities — from Circle co-founder Sean Neville's agent-finance bank. | |
| Agora National Trust Bank New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-04-20 | 2026-09-18 Corporate Decision 1393 | Digital-asset custody, investment advisory and stablecoin issuance for the AUSD issuer under one federal framework instead of state money-transmitter licences. | |
| Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. Sioux Falls, SD | National trust bank OCC | Application filed | 2026-09-04 | pending | Uninsured, non-depository trust bank for bitcoin and digital-asset custody, riskless-principal execution and stablecoin settlement — a second charter alongside Square Financial Services (Utah ILC), replacing 50+ state MTL and virtual-currency licences. Announced 2026-09-08. | |
| Revolut Bank US, N.A. Stamford, CT | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-03-04 | 2026-09-02 Corporate Decision 1390 | Full US national bank for Revolut's US expansion, filed the same month it received its full UK banking licence. | |
| OpenReserve Bank, National Association Salt Lake City, UT | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-04-13 | 2026-09-02 Corporate Decision 1389 | De novo bank with blockchain settlement, tokenized deposits and a GENIUS Act stablecoin subsidiary (ReserveUSD). | |
| Zerohash National Trust Bank | National trust bank OCC | Application filed | 2026-08-19 | pending | Stablecoin and crypto infrastructure provider seeking a federal trust charter. Second attempt: an earlier filing was returned by the OCC in July 2026; refiled the same charter the following month. | |
| Itaú Bank, National Association Miami, FL | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-03-16 | 2026-08-14 Corporate Decision 1386 | US national bank for Brazil's largest private bank. | |
| World Liberty Trust Company, National Association Bay Harbor Islands, FL | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-01 | 2026-08-14 Corporate Decision 1385 | Trust charter to expand the USD1 stablecoin business to institutional customers. | |
| bunq US Bank, National Association New York, NY | National bank OCC | Denied | 2026-01 | 2026-08-04 Corporate Decision 1384 (denial) | Second attempt after withdrawing a 2023 application; US deposits for European nomads resident in the US. The OCC denied the application after its field investigation, noting the proposed holding company would be majority-owned by a single individual who also controls bunq B.V. | |
| Upstart Bank, National Association Wilmington, DE | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-03-25 | 2026-07-23 Corporate Decision 1382 | Own charter for the AI lending marketplace, which has originated through partner banks (Cross River, FinWise) since 2012. | |
| Wise National Trust Austin, TX | National trust bank OCC | Denied | 2025-06-16 | 2026-07-21 Corporate Decision 1381 (denial) | Trust charter that would have given Wise direct access to US payment rails without a sponsor bank. The OCC denied the application after its field investigation; the letter says a subsequent application would need to address the reasons for the denial. | |
| First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. (Circle National Trust) New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Approved | 2025-06-30 | 2026-07-10 Final OCC approval (Circle announcement) earlier: Conditional Approval 1356 (preliminary), 2025-12-12 | Places USDC reserve management and digital-asset custody under federal oversight. | |
| Klarna Bank USA Utah | Industrial bank (ILC) FDIC / Utah DFI | Application filed | 2026-07-06 | pending | Utah industrial bank to hold US deposits and fund Klarna's US lending directly, alongside its existing Swedish banking licence. | |
| Connectia Trust, National Association New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-10 | 2026-07-02 Corporate Decision 1380 | Sony Bank's wholly owned US trust bank ($40M capital) for dollar-stablecoin issuance and reserves, stablecoin custody and fiduciary asset management; targeting Q1 2027. | |
| Morgan Stanley Digital Trust Purchase, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-02-18 | 2026-06-18 Corporate Decision 1378 | Digital-asset custody trust bank. | |
| Laser Digital National Trust Bank New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2026-01-27 | 2026-05-29 Corporate Decision 1377 | Digital-asset custody trust bank for Nomura's Laser Digital unit. | |
| Augustus National Bank, National Association Dallas, TX | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-12 | 2026-05-08 Corporate Decision 1374 | Full-service US bank for the European payments fintech formerly known as Ivy (processes for Kraken). | |
| Payward National Trust Company | National trust bank OCC | Application filed | 2026-05-08 | pending | Federally regulated digital-asset custody for individuals and institutions; opposed by community-bank trade groups. | |
| Interactive National Trust Bank Greenwich, CT | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-12-18 | 2026-05-05 Corporate Decision 1373 | Trust bank for custody and related fiduciary services. | |
| Mercury Bank, National Association Salt Lake City, UT | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-12 | 2026-04-24 Corporate Decision 1372 | Own bank to add Zelle, expand lending and run its own payments infrastructure instead of sponsor banks (Choice, Column, Evolve). | |
| Coinbase National Trust Company New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-10-03 | 2026-04-02 Corporate Decision 1370 | Migrates institutional custody from the NYDFS-chartered Coinbase Custody Trust Company to a federal trust bank over the three-year de novo period. | |
| VALT Bank, National Association Eagle, ID | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-11 | 2026-03-13 Corporate Decision 1368 | Digital business bank for SMBs — credit, deposits, treasury. | |
| Foris DAX National Trust Bank Chicago, IL | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-10 | 2026-02-20 Corporate Decision 1367 | Trust subsidiary to do business as Crypto.com National Trust Bank. | |
| Protego Holdings | National Digital Trust Company Seattle, WA | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-06 | 2026-02-13 Corporate Decision 1366 | Digital-asset custody and fiduciary services (crypto, tokenized securities, stablecoins) — Protego's second run at a federal charter after its 2021 conditional approval lapsed. |
| Bridge National Trust Bank New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-10 | 2026-02-12 Corporate Decision 1365 | Lets Stripe's stablecoin unit operate stablecoin products under federal oversight; Payoneer announced Bridge-powered stablecoins the same day. | |
| Erebor Bank, National Association Columbus, OH | National bank OCC | Approved | 2025-07 | 2026-02-09 Final national bank charter (OCC; reported by Banking Dive) earlier: Conditional Approval 1348 (preliminary), 2025-10-15 | First de novo national bank granted in four years — crypto-friendly bank for tech, AI, defence and manufacturing companies. FDIC deposit insurance approved 2025-12-16 (fdic.gov); full charter followed in February 2026. | |
| Nubank, National Association McLean, VA | National bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-09-30 | 2026-01-29 Conditional Approval 1362 | US entry for the Brazilian neobank: deposits, credit cards, lending and digital-asset custody. | |
| Affirm Bank Nevada | Industrial bank (ILC) FDIC / Nevada FID | Application filed | 2026-01-23 | pending | Nevada industrial loan company so Affirm can fund and hold its own BNPL and consumer loans as an FDIC-insured subsidiary rather than through partner banks. | |
| UKG National Trust Bank Branchburg, NJ | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-09-26 | 2026-01-22 Conditional Approval 1361 | Trust bank attached to the payroll / HCM platform — payroll funds handling under a federal charter. | |
| PayPal Bank Utah | Industrial bank (ILC) FDIC / Utah DFI | Application filed | 2025-12-15 | pending | Utah industrial loan company for small-business lending and FDIC-insured savings, reducing reliance on partner banks; Mara McNeill (ex-Toyota Financial Savings Bank) as president. | |
| Ripple National Trust Bank New York, NY | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-07-02 | 2025-12-12 Conditional Approval 1359 | Federal trust charter for RLUSD stablecoin reserves and custody. | |
| Paxos Trust Company, LLC → national bank New York, NY | Conversion to national bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-08-12 | 2025-12-12 Conditional Approval 1358 | Converts the NYDFS-chartered stablecoin issuer to a national trust bank. | |
| Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC → national bank New York, NY | Conversion to national bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-06-11 | 2025-12-12 Conditional Approval 1355 | Converts Fidelity's digital-asset custodian to a national trust bank. | |
| BitGo Trust Company, Inc. → BitGo Bank & Trust Sioux Falls, SD | Conversion to national bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-07-14 | 2025-12-12 Conditional Approval 1353 | Converts the South Dakota trust company behind BitGo's custody to a national bank. | |
| OneSource Virtual Trust Bank, National Association Dallas, TX | National trust bank OCC | Conditional approval | 2025-04-18 | 2025-09-12 Conditional Approval 1346 | Trust bank for the Workday payroll services provider's client-funds handling. |
Peaked at 9 a quarter in Q4 2025–Q1 2026; the dashed bars are still filling in, not a drop-off.
118–184 days across 19 measured approvals (UKG fastest, Fidelity Digital Assets slowest); Wise's denial took 400 — over 2x the slowest approval.
14 bank and bank-branch licence applications (filed, approved or announced) tracked in the UK, EU, Switzerland, the Nordics, Latin America and the Middle East. There is no regulator feed to diff these against the way the OCC’s table backs the US queue, so every row needs the company’s or regulator’s own document, or two independent outlets. Single-source bids are left out until a second source appears.
| Company | Jurisdiction | Licence | Status | Date | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia | Bank (credit institution) | Approved | 2026-09 | Licence to operate as a bank in Colombia, part of Revolut's push to hold its own banking licence in each major market. Sources · finextra.com, fintechfutures.com | |
| Switzerland FINMA | Bank (credit institution) | Application filed | filed 2026-09 | Standalone Swiss bank for franc salary accounts, Swiss IBANs and deposit protection; Swiss customers are served today by the Lithuanian entity. Sources · reuters.com, finextra.com | |
| Sweden Finansinspektionen | Bank (credit institution) | Application filed | filed 2026-08 | First market outside the UK for the digital SME bank; Swedish entity and executive team already set up, with EU passporting as the longer-term aim. Sources · allica.bank (primary) | |
| Finland Bank of Lithuania + ECB (home) / Finland (host) | Bank branch | Application filed | filed 2026-08 | Local Finnish account details for the 250,000+ customers served through the Lithuanian bank today. A branch of Revolut Bank UAB, not a new bank. No timetable disclosed. One source also mentions a Greek application; nothing else confirms it, so it is not recorded. | |
| France ACPR + ECB | Bank (credit institution) | Approved | 2026-08-10 | Second full EU bank licence, making Paris the Western European hub alongside Lithuania. The ECB's product-launch restrictions on the Lithuanian arm (July 2025) are reported by Bloomberg to extend to the French entity; Revolut's announcement did not mention them. Sources · techtimes.com, fxcintel.com | |
| Australia APRA | Bank (credit institution) | Approved | 2026-07 | Full authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) licence; banking operations activated in July 2026. | |
| France ACPR + ECB | Bank (credit institution) | Application filed | filed 2026-06 | Move an SME working-capital lender (today a société de financement) to a full EU credit institution ahead of expansion into Germany and Belgium from 2027. Sources · thepaypers.com, ibsintelligence.com | |
| United Arab Emirates Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) | Bank (credit institution) | Authorised, not yet fully operating | 2026-05-20 | Abu Dhabi-based AI-native, Shariah-compliant digital bank spanning banking, wealth, payments and embedded finance, targeting the $7tn Islamic finance market — reportedly the first in-principle approval anywhere for an AI-native digital banking platform. In-principle approval only — Mal has not yet become a fully licensed bank, and still needs final regulatory clearances before commencing operations. Reported alongside its $230M seed round (largest fintech seed round in MEA history), led by BlueFive Capital. | |
| United Kingdom PRA + FCA | Bank (credit institution) | Approved | 2026-03-11 | Full UK bank: FSCS-protected deposits and, over time, lending; ends the e-money-institution setup that served 13 million UK customers. Authorised with restrictions (mobilisation) on 2024-07-25; the PRA lifted them in March 2026, about 20 months later, longer than the usual 12. Sources · revolut.com (primary), tech.eu | |
| Latvia ECB | Bank (credit institution) | Intent announced | announced 2026-02 | Investment platform seeking an ECB banking licence for deposit funding and direct lending. The release says Mintos is initiating the process and expects 12-18 months; it does not confirm a filing. Sources · eqs-news.com (primary) | |
| Brazil Banco Central do Brasil | Bank (credit institution) | Intent announced | announced 2026-01 | Stated intention to obtain a full banking licence in Brazil in 2026, alongside the US national bank charter. The release states the intention and the country, not the regulator or a filing date. Sources · businesswire.com (primary) | |
| Ireland ECB (Central Bank of Ireland) | Bank (credit institution) | Approved | 2025-12 | EU banking licence to serve the EU without partner banks; Ireland first, Spain launched since. The sources say Ireland; the ECB / Central Bank of Ireland split is the standard route for a euro-area licence, not something either source spells out. Sources · paymentswrapup.com, fxcintel.com | |
| France ACPR + ECB | Bank (credit institution) | Application filed | filed 2025-07 | Move from a French payment-institution licence to full credit-institution status: longer-term lending, savings and investment, and independence from partner banks for Pay Later. Announced 2025-07-02. A January 2026 interview (JDN) says Qonto filed in 2024, and its CEO hoped for the licence in 2026. No decision found as of 2026-09-25. EU rules give the ECB six months from a complete application, twelve at most, so the announced date and the missing decision do not fit together: either the file was completed later, or a decision exists that was not found. Check before writing a status. Sources · reuters.com, techcrunch.com | |
| Mexico CNBV | Bank (credit institution) | Authorised, not yet fully operating | 2025-04 | CNBV authorisation for Nu México to organise as a banking institution. Authorisation to organise as a bank; final operational approval was still pending as of the 2026-01-27 release. Recheck. Sources · businesswire.com (primary) |
What the queue says. A bank charter has become an ownership strategy, and the queue splits by what the applicant wants to own. 21 of the 38 applications are for national trust banks: crypto and stablecoin firms (Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, Bridge) that want to hold custody, reserves and settlement under one federal supervisor rather than outsource them to a partner bank and fifty state licences. 10 are for full national banks: fintechs (Revolut, Mercury, Nubank, Upstart) that want deposits, lending and the balance sheet themselves. 4 are existing state-chartered institutions converting to a national charter, today all crypto custodians (Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo) moving their trust companies under the OCC. 3 sit outside the OCC ladder (industrial-bank or state-trust applications). The stablecoin rows are the newest pattern: under the GENIUS Act, issuers are applying to own issuance, reserves, custody and dollar conversion end to end, which is why the trust-bank column now outnumbers the deposit-taking one.