Varo, the digital bank, is celebrating its 2-year anniversary of being recognized as a national bank.
Meanwhile, Mercury and Payhawk are launching new corporate credit cards.
Also, is BNPL (buy now, pay later) format truly feasible? Find out below.
Varo’s Milestone
Varo was the first digital bank to get legitimized by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, back in 2020. This made Varo a “real” bank – a consumer bank nationally chartered by the US.
While most digital banks have to partner with a recognized bank to operate, Varo can act independently.
Last month, the bank celebrated its 2-year anniversary of attaining the national bank charter.
When Varo began its banking services in 2017, the startup aimed at providing online banking to younger account holders. The idea was to make the users comfortable with digital banking.
Since its birth in the year 2015, Varo was valued at $2.5 billion in 2021 when the bank’s value was last raised.
New Corporate Cards
Mercury launched a new corporate credit card called the IO Mastercard.
The card offers 1.5 percent cashback on all purchases. There are no personal checks and anybody with at least $50,000 in an account with Mercury can apply.
Mercury wants to attract more users, given the tough competition it faces from Ramp and Brex. Keeping with the times, Payhawk and Center are also introducing their own corporate cards.
BNPL Problem
According to the Associated Press, Americans find it difficult to pay for the goods they bought way back in the past.
People are calling for heavier oversight restrictions on BNPL activities. As per the CEO of Affirm, since BNPL is a lending activity, it should follow the rules and regulations prescribed for such activities.
