Rain Files OCC Application to Launch National Trust Bank for Stablecoin Payments

Rain has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Rain National Trust Bank, a proposed national trust bank headquartered in New York. This move seeks to consolidate custody and stablecoin issuance under a single federal framework, offering institutional-grade regulatory oversight for the infrastructure powering global stablecoin payments.

What was announced

The application to the OCC marks a significant shift for Rain, which currently manages assets for its partners across various state licenses, third-party custodians, and external stablecoin issuers. If the application is approved, Rain National Trust Bank (RNTB) will operate as a separately capitalized subsidiary, bringing fiduciary custody, reserve management, and stablecoin issuance and redemption functions under federal supervision and examination.

The proposed bank will focus on three primary lines of business within the digital asset ecosystem. First, it will provide fiduciary custody, ensuring that approved digital and fiat assets are segregated from the bank’s own assets. Second, it will manage reserves for permitted stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. Third, it will act as the issuer of record for US dollar-backed stablecoins, also in accordance with the GENIUS Act. As an uninsured national trust bank, RNTB will not accept deposits, offer consumer accounts, or engage in commercial lending. Assets held for clients will be treated as custody assets rather than bank liabilities, and reserves backing issued stablecoins will not be pledged or reused.

Rain has named Brandon Soto as the proposed President and Chief Executive Officer of RNTB, pending OCC review. Soto brings extensive experience in regulated financial leadership, having served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Coastal Financial Corporation and Chief Financial Officer of Square Financial Services, where he was instrumental in the charter application process for Block’s industrial bank. His background also includes roles as CFO and CAO of Green Dot Bank.

"The institutions building on Rain want the assets behind their programs held by a fiduciary that answers to a federal regulator. Rain National Trust Bank is how we plan to meet that expectation. Rain remains a payments platform. The proposed trust bank will be a separate subsidiary that holds client assets in custody, as a fiduciary and subject to OCC examination."

Farooq Malik, CEO and co-founder of Rain.

The companies involved

Rain is an enterprise-grade infrastructure provider specializing in stablecoin payments. The platform enables neobanks, developers, and AI agents to move and store stablecoins through a suite of tools including global payment cards, rewards programs, and cross-border rails. Rain holds the distinction of being a Visa and Mastercard Principal Member, allowing it to issue cards accepted at more than 175 million merchant locations across 200 countries and territories. The company currently provides infrastructure for over 100 organizations worldwide, facilitating instant and compliant money movement.

The proposed subsidiary, Rain National Trust Bank, is intended to be a New York-based national trust bank. While Rain itself will continue to operate as a stablecoin payments platform, RNTB is designed to provide the regulatory layer required for institutional trust. The application process was supported by the legal firm Paul Hastings. By seeking a national charter, the organization aims to move away from the fragmented state-by-state regulatory model that currently characterizes much of the US digital asset market, opting instead for the standardized oversight of the OCC.

What FF News has reported before

Rain’s infrastructure plays a critical role in the broader digital asset economy, supporting platforms that require secure, scalable payment rails. In June 2026, FF News reported on EarnOS Secures $18.5M to Pay Users in Crypto for Verifying They Are Human. This coverage highlighted the growing demand for systems that can handle high-volume crypto disbursements and verify user identity in a decentralized environment. The development of a federally supervised trust bank by Rain suggests a maturing market where the underlying rails for such crypto-incentive platforms are seeking the same level of regulatory rigor as traditional financial institutions.

What this means

This filing is a direct challenge to the prevailing state-level regulatory patchwork in the United States. By pursuing an OCC charter, Rain is signaling that the future of institutional stablecoin adoption depends on federal legitimacy rather than a collection of state money transmitter licenses. This move puts significant pressure on existing crypto custodians and stablecoin issuers who operate without federal bank supervision. It also forces a conversation at the regulatory level regarding the GENIUS Act and how the OCC will manage the unique risks of stablecoin reserves. For the industry, this represents a pivot toward "banking-as-infrastructure" for the digital asset age.