Key Takeaways
- • Ramp applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Oct. 16, 2026 to establish Ramp National Trust Bank, offering digital asset custody and fiduciary investment management under federal supervision.
- • The proposed bank would not accept deposits or make commercial loans, according to the company's Oct. 19 announcement.
- • Ramp reported more than $5 billion in customer balances across its checking and investment accounts as of Oct. 20, though these are assets under management and administration, not digital asset custody holdings.
- • The application joins filings from Rain, Payward (Kraken parent) and Zerohash amid a legal challenge from the Independent Community Bankers of America over the OCC's chartering authority.
- • Ramp has not announced a decision timeline, a launch date, or which digital assets it intends to support.
Summary
Corporate payments platform Ramp has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter, according to the company's October 19 announcement. The application, submitted October 16, proposes an institution called Ramp National Trust Bank that would provide digital asset custody and fiduciary investment management under a federal regulatory framework. Ramp said the proposed bank would not take deposits or make commercial loans, and that the charter would allow it to bring investment management and custody services under "a consistent federal regulatory framework" while developing financial products alongside its existing banking partners.
Ramp's existing deposit and investment arrangements would remain unchanged, the company said. Checking deposits are provided by First Internet Bank of Indiana, an FDIC member institution. The Investment Account is offered by Ramp Advisory LLC, with portfolios managed by Moment Advisors and brokerage execution and custody handled by Apex Clearing Corporation. Investments in that account are not FDIC-insured. Ramp's disclosures state that more than $5 billion in customer balances were held across its checking and investment accounts as of October 20. The company describes this as assets under management and administration rather than regulatory assets under management, and the balances should not be read as assets already held in digital asset custody. In an October 14 update, co-founders Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh reported a $60 billion valuation, 85,000 business customers, annualized revenue above $2 billion and positive cash flow.
The application follows filings from other digital asset firms. Rain submitted its application on October 5, Payward filed on May 8, and Zerohash submitted a revised application on August 19 after the OCC returned its initial filing in July. The OCC has previously issued conditional approvals to Ripple, BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets. Ramp was not listed on the OCC's digital asset application page reviewed on October 20, though the regulator notes that the page is updated as applications arrive.
The process faces a legal challenge. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC on October 2, arguing that the regulator exceeded its statutory authority by allowing national trust banks to conduct non-fiduciary activities. The suit challenges the OCC's 2026 chartering rule and Interpretive Letter No. 1176 and seeks their invalidation. The OCC maintains that its March 2026 rule clarified existing authority, including custody and safekeeping, rather than creating new powers. The lawsuit does not name Ramp, and the OCC declined to comment, according to Reuters.
Ramp's proposal remains subject to OCC review, which can include requests for further information and conditions on capital, management and operational readiness. Ramp has not disclosed an expected decision date, a launch timeline, whether custody services would be limited to existing business customers, or whether the bank would support stablecoins or trading. The OCC's public register did not yet show a Ramp-specific filing document or comment deadline as of October 20.
Ramp's existing deposit and investment arrangements would remain unchanged, the company said. Checking deposits are provided by First Internet Bank of Indiana, an FDIC member institution. The Investment Account is offered by Ramp Advisory LLC, with portfolios managed by Moment Advisors and brokerage execution and custody handled by Apex Clearing Corporation. Investments in that account are not FDIC-insured. Ramp's disclosures state that more than $5 billion in customer balances were held across its checking and investment accounts as of October 20. The company describes this as assets under management and administration rather than regulatory assets under management, and the balances should not be read as assets already held in digital asset custody. In an October 14 update, co-founders Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh reported a $60 billion valuation, 85,000 business customers, annualized revenue above $2 billion and positive cash flow.
The application follows filings from other digital asset firms. Rain submitted its application on October 5, Payward filed on May 8, and Zerohash submitted a revised application on August 19 after the OCC returned its initial filing in July. The OCC has previously issued conditional approvals to Ripple, BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets. Ramp was not listed on the OCC's digital asset application page reviewed on October 20, though the regulator notes that the page is updated as applications arrive.
The process faces a legal challenge. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC on October 2, arguing that the regulator exceeded its statutory authority by allowing national trust banks to conduct non-fiduciary activities. The suit challenges the OCC's 2026 chartering rule and Interpretive Letter No. 1176 and seeks their invalidation. The OCC maintains that its March 2026 rule clarified existing authority, including custody and safekeeping, rather than creating new powers. The lawsuit does not name Ramp, and the OCC declined to comment, according to Reuters.
Ramp's proposal remains subject to OCC review, which can include requests for further information and conditions on capital, management and operational readiness. Ramp has not disclosed an expected decision date, a launch timeline, whether custody services would be limited to existing business customers, or whether the bank would support stablecoins or trading. The OCC's public register did not yet show a Ramp-specific filing document or comment deadline as of October 20.
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