rewrite this title Checkout.com Gets the Thumbs Up to Operate as its Own Bank Charter – Finovate

Checkout.com has received approval for a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter in Georgia.

The charter enables the UK-based payments provider to operate as its own acquirer in the US.

The move marks a major expansion of Checkout.com’s North American strategy, as it expects full banking operations in 2026.

Digital payments provider Checkout.com has received approval for its Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. For UK-based Checkout.com, this regulatory approval will allow the fintech to transition to operating a MALPB in the US.

Checkout.com sees the approval as the next step in its journey, which includes direct US card network integration and the ability to operate as its own acquirer in the US market. Bringing both of these aspects in-house will offer Checkout.com more control, allow it to move faster, and offer better acceptance rates in order to deliver the performance US merchants expect.

The approval reduces Checkout.com’s dependence on sponsor banks, which will enable greater control over settlement, risk management, and merchant onboarding. These capabilities are increasingly important as payment volumes and regulatory scrutiny grow in the US market.

“With our MALPB charter now approved, the ‘definitive catalyst’ we identified in October is officially activated. This milestone paves the way for a new era of payment performance,” said Checkout.com MALPB CEO and Head of North American Banking Jordan Reynolds. “Our focus is now on scaling our infrastructure and building up talent in Atlanta and the US to meet the rigorous conditions of our approval. We are on track toward full charter banking operations in 2026, doubling down on our commitment to provide US enterprise merchants with the performance and reliability they demand.”

As Reynolds hints, while the charter has been approved, Checkout.com will still need to meet regulatory and operational milestones before fully launching banking operations, which it expects to complete later this year.

Today’s move indicates that Checkout.com is interested in significantly expanding its North American operations. The US bank charter will offer US enterprises a payment platform optimized for the complexities of the US market.

The company operates a US headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia with additional offices in New York and San Francisco. Checkout.com was authorized as an electronic money institution in the UK in 2017 and in France in 2019. In 2023, the company obtained its Retail Payment Services license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and since then has brought Mada (Saudi Arabia’s National Payment Network) and Apple Pay to merchants across the UAE and KSA.

Founded in 2012, Checkout.com is a global payments platform that empowers businesses to accept, process, and manage payments seamlessly. The company uses its payments network to enable organizations to accept payments locally and internationally with global acquiring capabilities. The company also offers a suite of services that allows businesses to create and manage their own payment cards, advanced risk management tools to optimize performance and reduce fraud, and treasury management services to streamline cash flow and reconciliation.

Checkout.com processed more than $300 billion in ecommerce volumes last year and counts Uber, eBay, Pinterest, Klarna, and GE Healthcare among its clients.

Photo by cottonbro CG studio

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