FinTech Company Mercury Submits Applications to Become National Bank

FinTech company Mercury has applied for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and for federal deposit insurance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Mercury aims to combine its existing financial software with the strength and stability of a regulated institution, open and operate a national bank, and become “the bank for builders,” it said in a Friday (Dec. 19) press release.

“We’ve built Mercury for ambitious companies and individuals,” Mercury Co-founder and CEO Immad Akhund said in the release. “Once we receive regulatory approval, a charter will let us deliver greater stability, long-term confidence and trust, while continuing to redefine what radically different banking means.”

Mercury launched in 2019 offering checking and savings accounts through FDIC-insured partner banks, according to the release. Since then, it has added investment accounts, a business charge card, international wires, lending, consumer banking and financial software for businesses.

The company offers products through bank partners, other regulated third parties and its own licenses, the release said.

It now serves more than 200,000 companies, including startups, venture capital firms, eCommerce companies and small businesses, per the release.

Mercury also said in the release that it appointed SoFi veteran Jon Auxier as chief banking officer of Mercury and, subject to the approval of its applications, CEO and president of Mercury Bank.

Auxier served as chief financial officer at SoFi Bank and corporate treasurer of SoFi Technologies, where he led the company’s successful application and implementation of its national bank charter, according to the release.

“Few FinTechs have reached the level of financial strength and operational discipline to pursue a charter at this scale,” Auxier said in the release. “Mercury is profitable and has built a strong balance sheet with a scaled and successful business. Becoming a bank will build upon our strong foundation and let us innovate with more precision and accountability.”

When Mercury expanded into consumer banking with the April 2024 launch of Mercury Personal, the company said it aimed to help builders in the tech sector optimize their money.

“Most founders are just looking for a powerful self-service banking option they can use for their personal needs,” Alexey Likuev, head of personal banking at Mercury, said at the time in a press release. “And that is where Mercury Personal comes in.”