Modern Treasury Applies to Launch a National Trust Bank Under OCC Supervision

Modern Treasury has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch Modern Treasury National Trust Bank, a move that would put its payments stack, stablecoin settlement, and digital asset custody under a federally regulated limited-purpose bank. For high-risk operators and their PSPs, the relevant part is simple: this is another attempt to bundle fiat movement, stablecoin rails, and custody into one regulated infrastructure layer.

1. On Monday, Oct. 5, Modern Treasury said it had filed an application with the OCC for Modern Treasury National Trust Bank. If approved, the entity would operate as a federally regulated, limited-purpose national trust bank under OCC supervision.
2. The proposed bank would offer what the company called a “unified custody solution,” combining Modern Treasury’s payments and settlement capabilities with digital asset and custody services. The setup is meant to let customers custody and move fiat and stablecoins through one platform.
3. Modern Treasury said the bank would not issue stablecoins or make loans. The company also said it will continue offering payment infrastructure through its software and payment service provider, while the proposed bank would function as a separate, limited-purpose banking entity providing only OCC-permitted services.
4. Matt Marcus, co-founder and CEO of Modern Treasury, said the company has “fully integrated stablecoins” into its payments platform and that pursuing the charter would add “direct federally supervised digital asset custody and related services” to the infrastructure customers already use.
5. The filing follows Modern Treasury’s acquisition of Beam last year, which combined Beam’s stablecoin and fiat payment service with Modern Treasury’s money movement infrastructure. The result is a platform that includes traditional and stablecoin settlement rails.

The timing matters because the OCC’s approval process for digital asset companies seeking banking charters is under pressure from the banking industry. Last week, the Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC, arguing that the regulator is letting crypto firms into the banking system without the same level of scrutiny applied to community banks. The OCC declined to comment on the litigation.