The Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Brian Brooks, has in numerous speeches and appearances announced the intention of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) to issue national bank charters to entities engaged in “payments.” These charters would be full national bank charters issued pursuant to the National Bank Act (the “NBA”), as the payments entity would be engaged in at least one of the three enumerated national bank activities: lending, payments or deposits.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) has stated that it does not believe the OCC has the authority to issue a national bank charter under the NBA unless the resulting entity accepts deposits.
