Mercury
“Can a BaaS-overlay neobank for startups acquire a bank charter and become the full financial OS for technology companies — owning the entire stack from deposits to lending to treasury?”
Mercury launched in 2017 as a digital-first business bank built on top of sponsor banks (Choice Financial Group and Column N.A.), targeting startups and tech companies underserved by legacy banks. It expanded from a pure deposit account into a full financial OS — adding Treasury yield management (via an in-house RIA), corporate cards, expense management, international payments, and most recently in-house lending (ecommerce working capital and venture debt via Mercury Lending, LLC). The company received conditional OCC approval for a national bank charter in 2025, signaling ambition to own its own banking rails rather than rely on BaaS sponsors. With $650M ARR, Mercury is transitioning from a fintech overlay on BaaS infrastructure toward becoming a chartered bank operating its own stack.