TLDR
- Ramp applied to the OCC on Oct. 16 for a national trust bank charter for a proposed institution called Ramp National Trust Bank.
- The proposed bank would offer digital asset custody and fiduciary investment management, but it would not take deposits or make loans.
- Ramp reports more than $5 billion in customer balances, a $60 billion valuation and 85,000 business customers.
- Rain, Kraken parent Payward and Zerohash have filed similar trust bank applications with the OCC.
- Community bankers sued the OCC on Oct. 2, challenging its authority to grant these charters.
Corporate payments company Ramp has applied for a US national trust bank charter. The charter would let it offer digital asset custody and fiduciary investment management under federal oversight.
The company filed its application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Oct. 16. It announced the filing on Oct. 19. The proposed bank would be called Ramp National Trust Bank.
“It will not take deposits or make commercial loans,” Ramp said. The company said the charter would bring its investment and custody services under “a consistent federal regulatory framework.”
Ramp has not said when the bank could open. It also has not named which digital assets it plans to support or whether it will handle stablecoins or crypto trading.
Ramp’s Current Business and Customer Balances
Ramp currently offers business checking through First Internet Bank of Indiana, an FDIC member. Its Investment Account is run by Ramp Advisory LLC, with Apex Clearing Corporation handling brokerage and custody.
The company did not announce any changes to these partners. Its disclosures show more than $5 billion in customer balances across checking and investment accounts as of Oct. 20.
These balances are not held in digital asset custody. The trust bank has not been approved.
On Oct. 14, co-founders Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh said Ramp had reached a $60 billion valuation. They said it serves 85,000 businesses and has annualized revenue above $2 billion.
Crypto Firms Seek Similar Charters as Banks Push Back
Ramp is one of several firms seeking federal trust charters. Rain applied on Oct. 5 to offer digital asset custody and stablecoin reserve management.
Kraken parent Payward filed on May 8 for a trust company focused on custody for institutional clients. Zerohash filed a revised application on Aug. 19 after the OCC returned its first filing in July.
The OCC has already given conditional approvals to Ripple, BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets. These firms must meet more requirements before they can begin operating.
The process faces a legal challenge. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC on Oct. 2, saying the regulator went beyond its legal authority.
The group wants a court to strike down the OCC’s 2026 chartering rule and Interpretive Letter No. 1176. ICBA chief Rebeca Romero Rainey said consumers could misunderstand the protections these trust banks offer.
The OCC has said its March 2026 rule only clarified existing powers. The agency declined to comment on the lawsuit, according to Reuters. The case does not name Ramp.
Ramp’s application now goes through OCC review. The regulator can ask for more details and set conditions on approval. Public comment periods usually last 30 days after a notice is published.
As of Oct. 20, the OCC’s public register did not yet show a Ramp filing document or a comment deadline. Ramp has not given a timeline for a decision.
