Fintech Ramp, which offers corporate cards and spend management software, filed an application with the US OCC on 16 October to form Ramp National Trust Bank. The bank would provide investment management and digital asset custody services, without taking deposits or making loans. The filing came a day after the company raised $1.85 billion at a $60 billion valuation. The Independent Community Bankers of America has already sued the OCC over charters of this kind.

What it means: National trust bank charters have become the preferred route for fintechs and crypto firms that want federal oversight without the burden of a full commercial bank. They do not allow deposits or loans, but they provide a single nationwide regime for custody and asset management. For Ramp, that means it could manage corporate clients' cash, for example in Treasury bills, and hold stablecoins and other digital assets, without relying on partner banks. A spend management software company seeking a bank charter shows how blurred the line between fintechs and banks is becoming in the US. The OCC has already approved more than 20 such charters, over half of them to crypto companies, and traditional banks are pushing back, arguing that this sidesteps the rules that apply to them. The ICBA lawsuit could decide whether this route stays open, and its outcome will matter to every fintech weighing a similar application. Europe has no direct equivalent, but MiCA's CASP licences play a similar role for crypto custody.

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