Revolut has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a US national bank charter, Finextra reports.

The firm has veered away from its initial plan to buy a lender in the country in the face of a more relaxed regime for bank charters under the Trump administration.

To spearhead its launch, the firm Revolut has appointed Cetin Duransoy US CEO.

Duransoy held senior leadership banking and payments roles at Capital One and VISA.

Revolut co founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky says: “The United States is a key pillar of our global growth strategy. Filing for a national bank charter is a major milestone toward our vision of building the world’s first truly global banking platform. This charter will give us the direct control needed to innovate faster and deliver the Revolut experience to millions more Americans as we move toward our goal of 100 million customers.”

If approved the charter will enable the firm to ramp up its operations, providing direct acces to payment rails and new revenue streams from card and credit operations.

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