Mobile banking startup Varo Money Inc. announced this week it has applied for a national bank charter.
Although Varo is technically a financial technology company, its application is not for the special charter for nonbanks, or fintechs, that has been proposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Varo instead opted to apply for the traditional national bank charter through the OCC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — a step some attorneys view as a direct result of the OCC acting comptroller’s July 19 speech to the Exchequer Club in Washington, D.C., that encouraged fintechs to act as banks.
