On Wednesday the American Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)* followed up on its promise last December to introduce a national bank charter for Fintech bank startups by issuing a white paper on how to apply for a licence, the evaluation process and what will be involved. It’s a massive move towards allowing Fintech firms like Square, Stripe and Simple to become full banks in the USA, if they want to be, plus any other firm who fancies a shot like Apple, Wal*Mart and even Ant Financial (although I doubt Trump would allow the last one through). It doesn’t mean they’ll get a license, but it does mean they can apply for one through one agency rather than having to deal with 200.
Interestingly the process also reflects the spirit of the previous administration’s advisory paper that recommended the spirit of how the government should see Fintech, as blogged about in January. For example, there is a major meme in the OCC’s paper about financial inclusion, and the White House paper’s clear objective for financial services included the line: “strengthen financial inclusion and health in the United States and abroad”.
Providing a path for fintech companies to become national banks can make the financial system stronger by promoting growth, modernization, and competition.
Anyway, here are a few key statements that attracted my attention in the OCC’s application process:
