Varo Money Receives FDIC Deposit Insurance Approval Toward National Bank Charter

On February 12, 2020, Varo Money announced it had received approval for FDIC deposit insurance, entering the final stage of its journey to become a nationally chartered digital bank in the United States. The approval marked a critical regulatory milestone for the fintech, which launched in 2017 and had been operating through a bank partnership model. Varo's technology stack is built on the Temenos T24 cloud-native core banking platform, enabling scalable digital banking services.

The company offers consumer-friendly features including early direct deposit, savings tools, and no-fee overdraft protection up to $50. Obtaining its own bank charter would allow Varo to reduce dependency on partner banks and gain greater control over its product roadmap and economics. The move has significant implications for the BaaS landscape, as it signals a potential shift where successful fintechs seek their own charters rather than relying on bank-as-a-service providers.

Financial details related to the charter application costs were not disclosed. Full OCC charter approval was expected to follow the FDIC insurance approval.