Payoneer eyes federal oversight with OCC filing amid plans for a bank and new stablecoin

Financial tech company Payoneer has joined the queue of firms looking to become a national trust bank and issue a regulated stablecoin.

On Tuesday, Payoneer said it filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish PAYO Digital Bank, N.A. The proposed charter would enable the company to receive and transmit stablecoins, issue its own dollar-backed PAYO-USD token, and provide digital asset custody services.

"Payoneer is at the forefront of cross-border payments, and we believe stablecoins will play a meaningful role in the future of global trade," CEO John Caplan said in a statement. 

Payoneer joins a growing list of firms seeking to secure a national trust bank charter following last summer's passage of the GENIUS Act, a law that provides federal guidelines for issuing stablecoins. A national trust bank charter places firms under federal supervision rather than a patchwork of state regulators and authorizes them to custody and safeguard client assets. 

Several crypto-native firms have already received conditional approval under a more permissive OCC, including most recently Crypto.com and Stripe subsidiary Bridge. In one sweeping move, the OCC earlier granted conditional approval to Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos in December. 

Industry momentum has also been shaped by the GENIUS Act. Regulators are now working on implementing parts of the law through rulemaking. Payoneer said the new law strengthens its ability to expand into digital assets.

"If approved, PAYO Digital Bank would allow Payoneer to leverage this new framework to bring stablecoin innovation to the day-to-day operations of small-and medium-sized businesses worldwide, via a federally supervised trust bank," the company said.