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🧠 Everyone wants to be a bank

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Welcome to Fintech Brainfood, the weekly deep dive into Fintech news, events, and analysis. You can subscribe by hitting the button below, and you can get in touch by hitting reply to the email (or subscribing then replying) More companies have applied for OCC banking charters in the past 6 months than I can remember. The temptation is to view this as a pro-business giveaway or opening the floodgates (cue the Oprah meme). I have a different take: this is Fintech's coming-of-age moment. Post-SVB and Synapse, it’s clear that an enforcement-only approach has not worked. Fintech institutions will now be subject to the highest levels of oversight and safeguarding, and that’s a very good thing. But with great charter, comes great responsibility (sorry to butcher the reference there Stan, RIP). The market is shifting in two directions: Own the Rails: Companies like Mercury moving from "Rent-a-Charter" (BaaS) to direct ownership. Better unit economics, less third-party risk (SVB/Synapse). Go H

🧠 Everyone wants to be a bank Home Posts 🧠 Everyone wants to be a bank 🧠 Everyone wants to be a bank Plus; JP Morgan explores letting clients trade crypto, while also freezing the accounts of Blindpay and Kontigo Simon Taylor Jan 4, 2026 Welcome to Fintech Brainfood, the weekly deep dive into Fintech news, events, and analysis. You can subscribe by hitting the button below, and you can get in touch by hitting reply to the email (or subscribing then replying) Subscribe Weekly Rant 📣 Everyone wants to be a bank. More companies have applied for OCC banking charters in the past 6 months than I

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