Mercury wins conditional approval from OCC for national bank charter.
The fintech company’s move to establish Mercury Bank, N.A. signals a broader push by digital platforms to gain control over core banking services.
Mercury, a San Francisco-based financial technology company serving more than 300,000 customers, has received conditional approval from federal regulators to establish a national bank, a step that would allow it to operate under direct oversight and expand its suite of financial services.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency this week granted the approval for Mercury Bank, N.A., moving the company closer to becoming a full-service national bank. The decision follows years of preparation by Mercury, which has built a digital platform aimed largely at startups and growing businesses.
The approval does not yet allow Mercury to begin operating as a bank.
The company must still meet additional regulatory requirements and obtain final approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve. Until then, customers will continue to use Mercury’s existing services, which are currently offered through partner banks.
Still, the milestone reflects a turning point for a company that has steadily expanded its reach. Mercury reports more than $650 million in annualized revenue and four consecutive years of profitability under generally accepted accounting principles. While it built its reputation among startups — saying one in three U.S. startups banks with the platform — it has broadened its appeal. In 2025, 73% of new customers came from outside the technology startup sector.
Immad Akhund, Mercury’s co-founder and chief executive, said the decision to pursue a bank charter was driven by customer demand for capabilities the company could not previously offer.
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“We applied for this charter because the best founders in the country deserve a bank that was built for them,” Akhund said. “Our customers have been asking for Zelle, for expanded lending, for payment infrastructure we actually control. We couldn’t give them those things without a bank charter.”
If the bank is fully approved and launched, Mercury plans to integrate additional services directly into its platform. These include person-to-person and business payments through Zelle, a broader range of lending products, and expanded payments infrastructure designed to speed transactions and give customers more control over how money moves.
The company has positioned its technology as an alternative to traditional banking systems, offering tools that combine payments, invoicing, expense management and financial insights in a single interface. The national bank charter, executives say, would allow Mercury to extend that model further by owning more of the underlying infrastructure.
Jon Auxier, who will serve as chief executive and president of Mercury Bank, said the next phase will focus on meeting regulatory expectations.
“The work now is earning trust by building the bank our customers deserve,” Auxier said. “That means the operational infrastructure and risk management discipline to match the standard Mercury’s product has already set.”
Auxier previously held senior roles at SoFi Bank, where he helped implement its national bank charter, as well as positions at Green Dot and Goldman Sachs.
Mercury first disclosed its intent to seek a charter in December 2025, submitting applications to both the OCC and the FDIC. It also plans to apply to the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company.
The proposed bank would be headquartered in Utah.
The move places Mercury among a small but growing group of financial technology firms seeking direct entry into the regulated banking system. For many such companies, charters offer greater control over products and revenue streams, but also bring heightened scrutiny and operational requirements.
For now, Mercury will continue to rely on partner banks while it works through the final stages of approval. But the company’s ambitions are clear: to move from a technology layer on top of banking to a bank in its own right, reshaping how its customers manage money along the way.
“The work now is earning trust by building the bank our customers deserve.”
– Jon Auxier
President & CEO
Mercury Bank
Ken McCarthy is manager of marketing communications at Tyfone, where he monitors the credit union industry and contributes to conversations shaping its future. He previously covered credit unions and community banking for American Banker and S&P Global Market Intelligence. He holds a journalism degree from Point Park University and has more than 15 years of experience covering financial services. He is also the author of three literary fiction novels.
