Many US "digital banks" are neobanks running on someone else's license. Grasshopper is the exception: its own national bank charter from the OCC (the bank opened in 2019), startup and SMB banking, SBA lending and a BaaS arm. In December 2025 online lender Enova agreed to buy it for about $369M; in September 2026 Enova withdrew its applications to the OCC and the Federal Reserve, so the bank's ownership has not changed.
Who they are and the license
Grasshopper Bank, N.A. is a New York digital bank on a de novo OCC national charter: according to FDIC BankFind (FDIC certificate 59113), it was established and FDIC-insured on 13 May 2019 and is supervised by the OCC. De novo means the bank was built from scratch rather than acquired. The holding company is Grasshopper Bancorp, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The CEO is Mike Butler, previously President and CEO of Radius Bank (sold to LendingClub in 2021). Today the bank serves startups, SMBs, venture funds, fintech programs and, through partners, consumers.
Scale by the FDIC Call Report for 31 December 2025: total assets $1.58B (+82% year on year), gross loans $1.11B (+73%), deposits on the balance sheet $1.42B. By 30 June 2026 assets were $1.60B. Enova's deal announcement put the deposits Grasshopper holds through its direct and BaaS offerings at about $3B as of 30 September 2025, against $1.27B on the bank's own balance sheet that day. The difference sits off the balance sheet; for a client that is an accounting detail worth understanding, not cosmetics.
Grasshopper is a digital bank with its own national charter, direct FDIC insurance and several growth channels — startups and SMBs, BaaS, and consumer banking after the Auto Club Trust merger. The Enova deal was meant to change the owner; with the applications withdrawn, the ownership stays as it was.
Products and programs
- Direct banking. Business checking and savings for small businesses and startups, accounts for venture capital and private equity firms, treasury management, commercial real estate lending, yacht lending and SBA 7(a) loans.
- BaaS and API banking. Grasshopper sponsors fintech programs and embedded-finance products — a second channel of deposits and fees.
- Consumer. On April 1, 2025 Grasshopper completed its acquisition of Auto Club Trust, FSB, the bank owned by The Auto Club Group (merger proxy); consumer products are offered as white-labeled banking.
Who gets in
The core is US-incorporated business: startups, SMBs, venture capital and private equity funds. The bank's published verification checklist asks for proof of the entity's name, address, owners or directors, state registration and EIN; regulated or specialized activities go through a separate review. The bank does not publish a policy for non-resident owners: a non-resident founder of a US company should expect a case-by-case decision, with better odds where there is real US nexus — an address, a team, actual flows. For purely non-resident structures, compare Mercury.
Onboarding
Applications are submitted online through the bank's application hub; the bank does not publish fixed decision times. Multi-layer holdings and foreign UBOs mean more verification documents and a longer review.
Risks and the regulatory backdrop
The main storyline was the Enova International deal: on December 11, 2025 the online lender announced an agreement to buy Grasshopper Bancorp for about $369M in cash and stock, subject to OCC and Federal Reserve approvals, with closing expected in the second half of 2026. On September 14, 2026 Enova withdrew its applications to both regulators; its CEO said the approval process was "susceptible to political pressure and outside advocacy". Enova's announcement did not report a termination of the merger agreement. For clients this means continuity for now: the bank stays with its current holding company.
Second: deposits that are not on the bank's own balance sheet are held outside the bank — check where the money actually sits and how pass-through insurance is documented. Third, the ordinary integration risk after the 2025 Auto Club Trust merger.
Q/A
Account and eligibility
Can a non-resident open an account at Grasshopper?
The bank verifies a US-incorporated business: state registration, EIN, owners. A non-resident founder with an operating US company — possibly, case by case; a structure with no US presence — unlikely.
How does Grasshopper differ from Mercury?
Grasshopper is a bank: the account is opened at the FDIC-insured bank itself. Mercury is a fintech company, not a bank: its accounts are held at partner banks (Choice Financial Group and Column N.A.) with pass-through insurance.
Ownership and business model
What happened to the Enova acquisition?
Enova agreed to buy Grasshopper Bancorp in December 2025, but on September 14, 2026 withdrew its applications to the OCC and the Federal Reserve. The bank's charter, FDIC insurance and current owner are unchanged; products run as before.
Is Grasshopper a sponsor bank?
Partly: BaaS is one of its channels. Alongside it the bank has a large direct business: startups, SMBs, SBA loans and venture funds.