Definition
Limited-purpose national bank charter under the Competitive Equality in Banking Act of 1987 (CEBA) restricting institutions to credit card operations — exempt from Bank Holding Company Act and Federal Reserve oversight.
Key Points
- No demand deposits or sub-$100K time/savings deposits (except as collateral for secured cards)
- No commercial lending; credit-card-only scope
- Home-state interest-rate export nationwide
- First new OCC CEBA credit card bank approval in ~20 years: mission-lane (Sep 2026)