Mercury on the Path to Its Own Bank

Mercury, a Raison portfolio company, has taken a major step toward becoming a full national bank. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted the company conditional approval to establish Mercury Bank, N.A.

This means that over 300,000 Mercury customers will eventually gain access to banking under direct federal oversight, built around how modern technology companies actually operate.

The Application and the Numbers

Mercury filed its bank charter application in December 2025, alongside an application for deposit insurance with the FDIC, the US government agency that insures deposits. The company will later file a separate application with the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company. Mercury Bank will be headquartered in Utah.

Years of work stand behind this decision. Mercury serves more than 300,000 businesses and individuals, generates over $650 million in annualized revenue, and has now maintained four straight years of GAAP profitability, the standard framework used for financial reporting in the US. One in three US startups banks with Mercury. Yet in 2025, 73% of new customers came from outside the tech sector, showing just how broad the product's appeal has become.

New Capabilities

The OCC's conditional approval moves Mercury into the bank organization phase. Ahead lie further approvals from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, along with the remaining requirements set by regulators. Throughout this process, nothing changes for customers: same accounts, same products, same support.

Once Mercury Bank is fully operational, customers will gain capabilities they don't have today. Among them is Zelle, a popular US service for instant transfers between bank accounts by phone number or email, built directly into Mercury Bank accounts for payments between people and businesses. Customers will also get an expanded lineup of lending products and deeper payments infrastructure for faster money movement.

Our customers have been asking for Zelle, for expanded lending, for payment infrastructure we actually control. We couldn't give them those things without a bank charter

Immad Akhund

co-founder and CEO of Mercury

Jon Auxier will lead Mercury Bank as CEO and President. He previously served as CFO of SoFi Bank and Corporate Treasurer of SoFi Technologies, where he helped secure SoFi's national bank charter. Before that, he held roles at Green Dot, Goldman Sachs, and a major accounting firm.

Until it reaches final status, Mercury will keep operating through its partner banks while building out the infrastructure and team its own bank will need from day one.

The next step for Mercury is approvals from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, followed by the remaining regulatory requirements. We're following how the company moves through this process and will share updates once there's news about the bank's launch.

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