Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) provider Sezzle Inc. has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national bank charter. Its proposed entity, Sezzle Bank, N.A., would also need deposit insurance approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
If approved, Sezzle Bank would be subject to federal supervision and could offer a wider range of products, including FDIC-insured checking and savings accounts.
The application marks a shift from Sezzle’s earlier plan to seek a Utah industrial loan company (ILC) license. The change is reportedly influenced by new state-level BNPL regulations.
Sezzle says a national charter would allow it to operate under federal oversight while expanding its offerings to digitally native consumers who often avoid traditional credit products. The regulatory review is expected to take 12 to 18 months.