Ramp’s OCC Trust Bank Bid Meets Court Fight Over Charters
Ramp, the New York spend-management fintech valued at $60 billion, has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter to custody digital assets, landing its bid in the middle of a courtroom fight over exactly that category of charter.
The application, filed around October 16 according to press reports, would create a new entity, Ramp National Trust Bank, focused on fiduciary investment management and custody services for digital assets. Ramp said the trust bank “will not take deposits or make commercial loans,” a deliberately narrow federal license that captures custody economics while avoiding full commercial bank regulation.
A charter under litigation
The category of charter Ramp is seeking is already contested. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC on October 2 in federal court in Washington over the limited trust charters it has granted crypto firms, arguing in its complaint that Congress did not create the charter as “a side door into the banking system for crypto firms.” ICBA Chief Executive Rebeca Romero Rainey made that argument in a public statement, and the suit remains active, so any approval Ramp wins could be legally contested.
The flashpoint charters are the crypto ones the OCC has already granted. Circle received final approval in July for First National Digital Currency Bank, and Stripe-owned Bridge won conditional OCC approval in February for a national trust bank to hold digital assets and manage stablecoin payments. The ICBA’s suit challenges that line of approvals specifically.
Rejection is also on the table. The OCC turned down Wise’s trust bank bid in July, citing compliance and money laundering concerns, a precedent that shows the narrow charter is not a formality. Revolut, by contrast, secured conditional approval for a full national bank charter in September, which still requires steps with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve.
Why a mainstream fintech wants in
Ramp built its business on corporate cards and spend management rather than tokens, and company figures relayed in press coverage put its annualized revenue run rate at about $2 billion across more than 85,000 business teams, up from an $8.1 billion valuation in a $750 million funding round in 2022. Today its customers’ checking deposits sit at First Internet Bank of Indiana, and its investment account is managed by Moment Advisors with assets held at Apex Clearing. The trust charter would bring fiduciary custody in-house.
Ramp framed the filing as seeking “a consistent federal regulatory framework,” and it is not alone: more than 30 companies applied to become US banks in 2025, including Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and PayPal (PYPL), per consulting firm Klaros Group. Read more of our stocks and markets coverage for how these licensing plays land for listed companies.
The OCC has not disclosed a review timeline for the application.
