In August, Varo Bank made history as the first consumer-focused FinTech company to secure a full-service national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It was also the first time the OCC had approved a charter for an internet-only consumer bank since the financial crisis. San Francisco-based Varo was established to lower the cost of banking and previously offered products in partnership with a third-party bank. Following charter approval, Varo is transitioning to its own platform and expanding its offerings to serve its more than one million customers.
To help Varo reach this milestone, S&C’s premier
Financial Services Group guided the client in receiving deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, approval from the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company, and membership in the Federal Reserve System.
Our FinTech Experience With deep experience advising financial institutions, we adeptly manage the intersection of the fast-moving tech world with the highly regulated financial industry. We have advised leading FinTech start-ups on strategic, corporate, and regulatory matters, including trading app Robinhood, online lending marketplace LendingClub, clearing and settlement innovator Baton Systems, and payments network Ripple.
Our lawyers are at the forefront of the most current and pressing legal issues in FinTech and have produced a series of memos on relevant topics, including:
Learn more about our Financial Services Group
here and our FinTech practice
here.