Square is About to Become a Real Bank

Artistic rendition

Square is on its way to becoming a bank. The payments and online lending company was approved by both the FDIC and the Utah banking regulator this week to create a de novo “industrial” bank. The company has been trying to accomplish this for more than two years. The news means that Square will likely no longer rely on a relationship with Celtic bank to make loans, while also being able to take on deposits.

The FDIC said in an announcement that, “The bank, Square Financial Services, Inc., will originate commercial loans to merchants that process card transactions through Square, Inc.’s payments system.”

Another fintech company, Nelnet, was also granted approval for an industrial loan charter at the same time.

Square and Nelnet’s move to become a bank is similar to the path taken by LendingClub. Rather than become chartered themselves, LendingClub recently agreed to acquire a chartered bank. However, LendingClub still must wait approximately 12 months for the deal to go through the process of regulatory approval.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.