Mercury Applies for US Bank Charter as FinTech Moves Closer to Becoming a Bank
Hey FinTech Fanatics!
Mercury has applied for a US national bank charter with the OCC and for federal deposit insurance with the FDIC.
A major step for a FinTech that already serves a large share of the startup ecosystem. The move would transition Mercury from operating solely through partner banks to becoming a regulated national bank.
The scale is already meaningful. More than 200,000 customers. $650M in annualized revenue. Three years of GAAP profitability. Roughly one in three US startups already uses Mercury.
What I’m watching closely is how this reshapes Mercury’s roadmap. A charter would allow deeper integration.
Mercury also appointed Jon Auxier as Chief Banking Officer. Same executive who helped SoFi navigate its bank charter journey.
Before the year-end break, one more update: Revolut doubles down on Spain...
As I covered, from 2026, Madrid and Barcelona will become major hubs, with nearly 7,000 m² of new office space and hundreds of new hires planned.
Spain is now Revolut's third-largest market, and this feels like the next phase of scale. 6 million customers. 1,500+ employees already on the ground.
And of course: Happy Holidays!
As the year comes to an end, I want to wish you, the FinTech Fanatics reading this newsletter every day, Happy Holidays and a great start to 2026!
I’ll be back after the break with more daily updates! Make the most of it!
Now, keep an eye on where FinTech is heading and dive into today’s updates 👇
Cheers
PAYMENTS NEWS
🇺🇸 OnePay joins Google's Agent Payments Protocol to define the future of agentic payments. Through AP2, OnePay will help define clear authorization rules, secure the reuse of payment credentials, support multi-instrument wallets, and provide access to transparent financing options.
🇬🇧 FCA to allow flexible contactless card payment limits from March 2026. This news follows the UK regulator's announcement of plans to accelerate digital innovation, reduce regulatory burdens, and support economic growth. Read more
🇺🇸 Timon adds Apple Pay and Google Pay to the virtual card for international travelers. The new offering enables tap-and-go payments, allowing users to make seamless transactions across borders without relying on physical cards. Timon users can now pay instantly using their smartphones or smartwatches wherever tap-to-pay is accepted.
🇬🇧 UK contactless card limit of £100 to be scrapped from 19 March. allowing banks and card providers to set their own transaction and cumulative limits, including potentially eliminating PIN requirements. The change aims to give firms greater flexibility to reflect consumer demand, inflation, and technological advances.
REGTECH NEWS
🇦🇺 ANZ to pay $250M in penalties for widespread misconduct across its institutional and retail businesses, including bond market breaches, failures in customer hardship handling, misleading savings rate statements, and charging fees to deceased customers.
DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
🇧🇷 PicPay launches "tap to pay" for contactless payments on entrepreneurs' cell phones. This feature allows entrepreneurs to accept contactless payments directly on their smartphones, expanding a portfolio that already includes an “account of accounts” experience.
🇺🇸 Mercury applies for the OCC National Bank Charter to become the bank for builders. Mercury aims to combine its software-driven banking experience with the stability and oversight of a national bank, while assuring customers that services will remain unchanged during the regulatory process.
🇩🇪 Two Ex-Bankers Convicted over €45 million in Fortis tax fraud deals. Two former Fortis Bank bankers have been convicted in Germany for their involvement in Cum-Ex tax trades that caused €45 million in losses to taxpayers, with the Frankfurt Regional Court sentencing one to two years and seven months in prison.
🇧🇷 FinTech Swap is considering expanding its business into credit. The startup, which operates as a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider, grew with an offering of cash flow management. Continue reading
🇺🇸 The Federal Reserve is pushing ahead with a 'skinny' master account plan for crypto banks. The Fed has requested public comment on a plan to create a fast-track approval process for “innovation-focused” banks seeking to operate nationally.
🇵🇰 VEON’s Mobilink Microfinance Bank launches Islamic banking operations in Pakistan. The launch of Islamic banking services supports the Bank’s strategy to broaden financial choice and inclusion for individuals, micro-entrepreneurs, and small businesses across the country.
BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
🇦🇪 Binance bans third-party listing agents to prevent fraud and protect token projects. The exchange outlined procedures for Alpha, Futures, and Spot markets. It also warned against third-party “listing agents” claiming to act on its behalf. The exchange emphasized that external brokers or intermediaries are not authorized to influence listings.
🇺🇸 Coinbase sues three US states over prediction market regulation. Coinbase has sued the U.S. states of Michigan, seeking court orders to block them from regulating prediction markets, arguing that such oversight falls exclusively under the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than state regulators.
🇪🇺 EU Council backs digital euro with both online and offline functionality. Under the Council's new position, the digital euro would be publicly issued by the European Central Bank and usable anytime, anywhere, whether users are connected to the internet or offline.
PARTNERSHIPS
🌍 Moneyhash partners with Mastercard to expand to merchant-focused solutions. By connecting to Mastercard’s Gateway through a single unified API, merchants can simplify integration, streamline operations, and enhance payment performance across markets.
🇬🇧 Nayax partners with Unipaas to launch a fully integrated card-present payments solution for UK SaaS platforms. Through this collaboration, Unipaas expands its embedded payments platform to support digital and physical environments with POS devices powered by Nayax, offering a complete payments solution.
🇺🇸 Klarna partners with Coinbase to receive stablecoin funds from institutional investors. Its partnership with Coinbase will let institutional investors front capital denominated in stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar.
🇺🇸 Pinpoint Predictive partners with Trexis Insurance to optimize payment plan decisions using early loss predictions. With this collaboration, Trexis will leverage Pinpoint's Loss Predictions to instantly assess expected loss outcomes as soon as a quote is initiated, enabling Trexis to tailor Payment Plan offerings to each individual, right from the start.
🇺🇸 Ripple expands partnership with TJM to enhance institutional trade execution and clearing services. The expanded partnership with Ripple enables TJM to offer its clients improved capital and collateral efficiency as well as enhanced clearing stability and balance-sheet support.
🇸🇬 Crypto.com partners with DBS to expand payment services in SG. This will allow users faster, easier deposits and withdrawals of Singapore Dollars (SGD) and US Dollars (USD) through new banking rails and dedicated client money accounts.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
🇺🇸 These 21-year-old dropouts raised $2M to build Givefront, a FinTech for nonprofits. The company is building a financial platform designed specifically for nonprofits, including food banks, animal rescues, non-governmental organizations, churches, and homeowner associations.
🇺🇸 Finny closes $17M Series A to help RIAs fight organic growth squeeze. Finny is trying to address the organic growth gap by automating much of the outbound work that often gets deprioritized. Keep reading
🌍 Nodu lands $1.45M to upgrade Europe’s payment rails as stablecoins surge. Following the new funding, Nodu plans to expand its geographic coverage, scale its engineering and compliance teams, and deepen partnerships with banks and FinTechs.
🇧🇷 FinTech Altis raises R$50 million in FIDC. The FinTech proposes to allow dealerships to receive a larger margin on financing, which currently goes to traditional banks, in addition to offering credit in an integrated, fast, and easier way. Continue reading
🇧🇷 Startup LastWish receives R$10 million from SRM Ventures to advance in inventory credit. With this investment, the FinTech is launching its first venture into the probate credit segment. The FinTech aims to support approximately 500 families within a year.
🇺🇸 Salient has achieved $25 million ARR and $500 million valuation with great customer retention. The firm raised $60M in a16z-led funding, reaching a $350M valuation in two years, with ARR surpassing $25M and over $1B in transactions processed. The AI FinTech aims to replace manual loan servicing by building an autonomous, end-to-end system of record for lenders.
🇿🇦 Ukheshe raises funding to fuel international expansion. The startup is accelerating its international expansion, now serving customers in eight countries, supported by new capital from ADP III and Fireball Capital. The funding strengthens its acquisitive growth strategy and supports long-term expansion, subject to customary closing conditions.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇬🇧 Versabank announces the appointment of a global CFO and an Executive promotion in support of the proposed corporate realignment. Nicolas Ospina has been appointed to the newly created role of Global Chief Financial Officer, and John Asma has been promoted to Executive Vice President.
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