The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval to two proposed national banks whose business plans combine conventional banking with digital-asset services: Revolut Bank US and OpenReserve Bank.
The separate decisions, both dated September 2, move the applicants into the organization and preopening phase. They do not authorize either bank to open. Each applicant must satisfy the OCC’s conditions, obtain Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation deposit insurance and receive final charter approval before beginning the business of banking.
For payments-industry readers, the decisions are notable because the OCC assessed digital-asset custody, stablecoin-enabled remittances and tokenized banking capabilities as components of full-service national-bank applications rather than as standalone crypto businesses. The approvals are conditional, however, and describe planned services rather than products available today.
Revolut seeks to replace its US partner-bank model
Revolut’s proposed bank would be a full-service, insured national bank headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with no branches. Revolut filed its charter application on March 10, according to the OCC decision.
Revolut currently provides prepaid cards, credit and payment services to US retail and business customers through FDIC-insured partner banks. Its application says a directly owned bank would let the company serve US customers at lower cost and with greater efficiency while broadening its product set.
The proposed bank plans to offer deposit and credit products, payments, digital-asset services and other financial-management tools through a digital application. It would provide nonfiduciary digital-asset custody through UK affiliate Revolut Ltd. The OCC decision says digital-asset services are projected to account for less than 2% of the bank’s revenue during its first three years, and the bank does not plan to hold digital assets on its balance sheet.
The payment component is more direct. The bank plans to let deposit and custody customers fund cross-border transfers with digital assets, including stablecoins. It also plans to give customers access to Revolut-branded stablecoins issued by a third party. The proposed bank would not issue those tokens or manage their reserves; its stated role would be limited to marketing, customer access and custody through the affiliate.
The OCC excluded Revolut’s proposed retail foreign-exchange business from the preliminary approval. That activity would require a separate supervisory non-objection before it could begin.
OpenReserve proposes tokenized deposits and a stablecoin subsidiary
OpenReserve’s proposed full-service bank would be based in Salt Lake City and operate without branches. Its organizers submitted the charter application on April 13.
The application covers deposit and lending products with tokenized capabilities, payments and treasury services, digital-asset services, foreign correspondent banking and a banking-as-a-service platform. It also contemplates a wholly owned subsidiary that would issue, hold in custody, convert and support payments in dollar-denominated, reserve-backed stablecoins.
That subsidiary is not yet approved. The OCC decision states that OpenReserve has not filed the required application for it. The bank’s proposed stablecoin activities also must conform to the GENIUS Act, future implementing regulations and other applicable requirements.
OpenReserve further plans to support cross-border transfers funded with digital assets, including stablecoins. Its proposal would allow the bank to deduct transaction fees in digital assets and retain only amounts needed for permitted purposes, such as blockchain network fees; other fee assets would be converted to fiat currency within one business day.
Approval is a starting point, not a launch
Both decisions impose preopening obligations covering capital, management, compliance, information security and operating controls. OpenReserve, for example, must maintain a tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 12% during its first three years. Each bank must also build programs addressing the Bank Secrecy Act, sanctions compliance and the operational risks created by its proposed activities.
The immediate consequence is therefore regulatory progress, not market availability. Neither approval establishes a launch date, confirms FDIC insurance or proves that the proposed stablecoin services will reach customers in their current form. The OCC retains authority to modify, suspend or rescind the preliminary approvals before final authorization.
Even with those limits, the decisions give payment companies a clearer view of the supervisory questions attached to bank-led digital-asset products. Stablecoin distribution, tokenized deposits and onchain remittances may sit alongside ordinary deposits and payments, but applicants still have to demonstrate capital strength, compliance systems, third-party oversight and operational resilience before launch.