OCC establishes Office of Financial Technology to keep pace with fintechs

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) established its Office of Financial Technology on Thursday to supervise the fintech industry as it grows at a “rapid pace,” the agency said.

The new office, announced in October, is a further expansion upon the OCC’s Office of Innovation and will heighten the agency’s focus on its “agility in providing high-quality supervision of bank-fintech partnerships,” according to a press release.

Additionally, the office will enhance the OCC’s expertise on matters regarding digital assets, fintech partnerships, and “other changing technologies and business models within and that affect OCC-supervised banks,” the agency said.