OCC National Trust Charter or State Money Transmitter Licences: Which Route for Stablecoin and Payments Firms in 2026 and 2027

For a stablecoin or payments firm planning US operations in 2026 and 2027, an OCC national trust charter gives one federal supervisor and, under OCC Interpretive Letter 1192, no need for state money transmitter licences, but it requires bank-level capital and governance. State money transmitter licences keep the business outside the banking system but must be obtained and renewed state by state. A firm that will issue its own payment stablecoin needs GENIUS Act approval from 18 January 2027 on either path, and an OCC-chartered uninsured national bank can take that approval from the OCC as well.

The decision in one table

What Interpretive Letter 1192 says

The OCC issued Interpretive Letter 1192, dated 12 May 2026 and published in June 2026, to Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association. Fidelity Digital Asset Services had been a New York trust company holding money transmitter licences in many states, including Iowa. The OCC approved its conversion to a national trust bank on 12 December 2025. When the bank surrendered its Iowa licence, the state noted that Iowa's licensing exemption covers only federally insured institutions, which the bank is not.

The OCC confirmed that the bank may conduct its federally authorised activities in any state without a state money transmitter licence, whether or not it fits a state exemption. Its reasoning has two parts. First, a state licence as a condition of exercising federal powers prevents or significantly interferes with those powers and is pre-empted by the National Bank Act. Second, state licensing brings reports, examinations and enforcement, which are visitorial powers that 12 U.S.C. 484 reserves to the OCC. The letter says the same applies to similar laws in other states.

Two limits matter. The letter rests on the facts the bank presented, and it states that it is not a pre-emption determination for state consumer financial laws under 12 U.S.C. 25b. It frees a national bank from state money transmitter licensing; it does not remove other state laws that apply to the bank's activities.

Who is taking the charter route

The OCC conditionally approved five national trust bank charters on 12 December 2025: First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank as new charters, and conversions for BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos. In 2026 it granted further preliminary conditional approvals, including Coinbase National Trust Company on 2 April 2026 and Agora National Trust Bank on 18 September 2026. The Agora decision records that the approvals for BitGo, Paxos, Bridge National Trust Bank and World Liberty Trust Company included stablecoin issuance activity. On 19 August 2026 the Comptroller said the OCC had received 40 applications for new bank charters, 23 of them involving digital asset activity.

What the charter costs in capital and governance

The OCC publishes its conditions in each decision. In the Agora National Trust Bank approval of 18 September 2026 the conditions included:

• At least US$10 million of tier 1 capital, with the greater of 50% or US$5 million held in eligible liquid assets
• A further 180 days of operating expenses, measured on a wind-down basis, held in eligible liquid assets and not double counted
• Quarterly assessment of whether higher capital and liquidity are needed
• These capital and liquidity conditions apply for the first three years of operation
• Capital raised within 12 months and the bank open within 18 months of the preliminary approval, or the approval expires
• Stablecoin activities conformed to the GENIUS Act and its implementing rules

A national trust bank also carries bank-style governance. In the Agora approval this included advance notice to the OCC of new directors and senior executive officers during the first three years, annual audits for at least three years after opening, and OCC examinations. The firm also applies for Federal Reserve Bank stock, as the OCC's approvals note.

If the trust bank will issue a payment stablecoin, the OCC's proposed GENIUS Act rule adds an issuer capital floor of at least US$5 million or a higher chartering condition for 36 months, and an operational backstop equal to 12 months of total expenses.

What the state route involves

State money transmitter licensing is run by each state under its own law. Interpretive Letter 1192 summarises Iowa's version, which is typical: an application with required materials and a fee, approval or denial by the state agency, ongoing reports, audited financial statements and event notices, prudential standards, an annual licence fee, examinations and books and records requests, and enforcement up to suspension, revocation or receivership. Multiply that by every state where the firm needs a licence, alongside FinCEN MSB registration at federal level. Our page on the US money transmitter licence covers state sequencing, bonding and renewals.

The state route keeps the firm outside bank regulation and its governance model, and suits firms that move money but do not need custody under a trust charter or nationwide uniformity on day one.

Ongoing supervision compared

Where the GENIUS Act changes the calculation

From 18 January 2027 a payment stablecoin issuer must be a permitted issuer whatever licences it holds. Section 5(h) pre-empts state charter and licence requirements for an approved federal qualified issuer or bank subsidiary. That means a nonbank company can obtain federal issuer approval from the OCC without a trust charter, and the approval itself removes state licensing for the issuer. The trust charter adds custody, fiduciary services and nationwide money movement through the bank under Interpretive Letter 1192, which is why exchanges and custodians have favoured it.

A state-licensed issuer can stay with its state only if the state regime is certified as substantially similar and only up to US$10 billion of outstanding issuance. New York's Department of Financial Services published draft Part 202 rules on 9 June 2026 to align its regime with the Act from the effective date.

Our guide on US payment stablecoin issuer approval sets out each issuer route, and our article on how to become a permitted payment stablecoin issuer covers the application itself. Platforms deciding which coins they will list should also read what the GENIUS Act requires of exchanges and custodians.

Which route fits which firm

• A stablecoin issuer that also wants custody and payments nationwide: national trust charter plus OCC issuer approval
• A nonbank issuer focused on issuing and redeeming its own coin: OCC federal qualified issuer approval without a charter
• A payments firm moving fiat and stablecoins for customers without issuing: state money transmitter licences and FinCEN registration, with the charter as a later step if scale justifies bank governance
• A smaller issuer close to one state regulator: a certified state regime, with a plan for the US$10 billion transition
• A custodian or exchange holding customer assets: national trust charter, or a state trust charter where it meets the custody standards in section 10 of the Act

Questions to settle before you choose

The right answer usually follows from five questions about the business rather than from the cost of either route on its own:

• Will the firm issue its own payment stablecoin, or only move, hold and exchange coins issued by others?
• Does it need to hold customer assets in custody, and do its customers expect a regulated bank or trust company as custodian?
• How many states do its customers live in now, and how many will they live in within two years?
• Can the owners fund bank-level capital and liquidity for three years, and accept OCC review of directors, senior officers and changes of control?
• Does the business plan include taking deposits or lending, which fall outside a trust company's operations and would need a different charter or bank partners?

A firm that answers yes to issuing, custody and nationwide reach, and can fund the capital, is usually better served by the charter. A firm that moves money for customers in a limited number of states, and does not issue, is usually better served by state licences and FinCEN registration, with the charter kept under review as volumes grow. Many firms will hold state licences first and convert later, as Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo and Paxos have done by applying to convert existing state trust companies into national trust banks.

A timeline for 2026 and 2027

• Before 18 January 2027: decide the route. If you will issue a coin, file the GENIUS Act application so it is pending on the effective date
• If chartering: plan for 12 months to raise capital and 18 months to open after preliminary conditional approval
• If licensing by state: sequence the states that cover most customers first and keep FinCEN registration current
• Through 2027: watch the OCC final rule, expected by November 2026, and state certifications, due by 18 January 2028