Mercury Bank Received conditional approval for national bank charter Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
In a public statement, Immed AkhundMercury’s co-founder and CEO said the founders applied for the bank charter because they needed a bank set up for them:
“Our customers want to take advantage of Zelle, the expansion of credit, the payment infrastructure that we actually control. We couldn’t give them those things without the bank charter. Those gaps have always bothered me. This is how we’re starting to close them.”
With a bank charter in hand, it may choose to move away from collaborations with currently chartered banks such as Choice Financial Group and Column.
Mercury is a digital-only bank that offers checking, savings, payments and other digital tools typically offered by a bank. The bank is on a mission to serve entrepreneurs and startups.
Mercury filed for a bank charter in December 2025 and said it was working on “a long-term vision to create a regulated, software-driven financial institution for ambitious companies and individuals.”
As of November 2025, Mercury reported more than 200,000 customers generating $650 million in revenue.
Mercury boasted that it backed 1 in 3 startups in the US.
Very few new banks were established under the previous administration. Since the current administration supports Fintech and innovation in general, a large number of applications and approvals have been received for digital-only operations.
Jon DeputyMercury’s Director of Banking explained last year:
“Very few fintechs have achieved the financial strength and level of operational discipline to pursue an engagement of this scale. Mercury is profitable and has built a strong balance sheet with a scaled and successful business. Becoming a bank will build on our strong foundation and allow us to innovate with greater precision and accountability.”
