According to PYMNTS.com, Mercury, the FinTech company launched in 2019, submitted applications on December 19 to become a nationally chartered bank. The company, which started by offering checking and savings accounts through FDIC-insured partners, now serves more than 200,000 businesses including startups, VC firms, and eCommerce companies. It has expanded into investment accounts, a charge card, lending, and even consumer banking with the April 2024 launch of Mercury Personal. To lead this banking push, Mercury appointed SoFi veteran Jon Auxier as its chief banking officer and, pending approval, the future CEO of Mercury Bank. Auxier previously led SoFi’s own successful national bank charter application. In its announcement, Mercury stated the charter would allow it to deliver greater stability and long-term confidence while continuing its mission to be “the bank for builders.”
Market Shakeup
This is a huge step. For years, FinTechs like Mercury have operated in a kind of regulatory gray area, leaning on partner banks to hold deposits and provide the actual banking license. It’s a clever hack, but it comes with limitations. You’re ultimately building on someone else’s foundation. By getting its own charter, Mercury is aiming for the ultimate level of control. They can manage their own balance sheet, set their own interest rates more precisely, and potentially offer a wider, more integrated suite of products without a middleman. The profit margins could look very different.
Winners and Losers
So who wins? Mercury’s most loyal customers—those “builders” in tech and startups—probably do. The promise is more stability and potentially better, faster products. Jon Auxier’s quote about innovating with “more precision and accountability” isn’t just corporate fluff; it’s the real goal. The loser, in the long run, might be the traditional small business banking division at places like Chase or Bank of America. Mercury has already eaten their lunch on user experience and tech integration. Now, with a charter, they’re coming for the underlying economics, too.
The SoFi Playbook
Here’s the thing: hiring Jon Auxier is the biggest tell. This is the SoFi playbook, plain and simple. SoFi went through this exact transition, moving from a FinTech lender to a full-fledged bank, and it fundamentally changed their business. It gave them a cheaper, more reliable source of funding (customer deposits) and let them control the entire customer relationship. Mercury is betting it can do the same for the business and founder world. But let’s be real: the regulatory process is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s rigorous, expensive, and slow. Auxier’s experience is their secret weapon here.
Broader Implications
What does this signal for the broader FinTech world? Basically, it marks a new phase of maturity. The “move fast and break things” era is over for the sector’s leaders. Now it’s about “move deliberately and build permanent things.” A national bank charter is the ultimate sign that you’re playing for keeps. It invites a whole new level of scrutiny from the OCC, but it also grants a legitimacy that partner models can’t match. For other large FinTechs watching, Mercury’s journey will be a crucial case study. Can you keep your innovative, builder-centric culture when you also have to comply with every single banking regulation on the books? That’s the billion-dollar question.
