Why fintechs are transitioning from partners to principals in banking

Fintech’s core value proposition was that financial services could be delivered without owning a bank charter. That model produced an entire generation of financial companies. But it also created a structural dependency: fintechs could innovate quickly and focus on software, distribution, and user experience, yet the underlying regulatory authority, lending licenses, deposit insurance, and access to the financial system, remained largely with partner banks.

By early 2026, signs of a shift in that architecture have started to emerge. Within the last three months, three prominent fintechs have applied for bank charters. Buy-now-pay-later provider Affirm applied to establish a bank subsidiary, followed by cross-border payments platform Payoneer, which filed for a national trust bank to support stablecoin infrastructure. And this month, AI lending platform Upstart applied to become a national bank.

One quarter, three charters

These charter applications are fueled by different objectives.

Affirm: Owning the lending stack

In January, Affirm applied to establish Affirm Bank, a Nevada-chartered industrial loan company regulated by state authorities and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Industrial loan companies (ILCs) can be owned by commercial companies while still operating as FDIC-insured banks, allowing non-bank firms to enter banking without becoming traditional bank holding companies.

For Affirm, the charter could change the economics and structure of its lending platform. The firm can reduce reliance on partners and take greater control over the credit lifecycle, better manage funding costs, expand the scope of its products, and align underwriting, funding, and servicing under a single roof.

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