Stripe’s Bridge has applied to the U.S. OCC for a national bank trust charter, a step it says could enable “tokenizing trillions of dollars” across enterprise payments and settlement.

A federal trust license would allow Bridge to custody client assets, manage stablecoin reserves, and operate under unified supervision—critical for selling into large, regulated enterprises and complying with newly enacted U.S. stablecoin legislation. Bridge also plans a New York limited‑purpose trust, aligning with models used by Paxos, while co-founder Zach Abrams emphasizes bank‑grade issuance, redemption, and on-chain settlement controls.

The move intensifies competition with Circle and PayPal for merchant flows and embedded finance distribution, as corporates explore payment rails that combine instant settlement with audited reserves. If approved, expect tighter bank-aligned standards for payment stablecoins, faster enterprise tokenization pilots, and a clearer divide between regulated payment tokens and retail‑first crypto assets.