Canadian banking is a protected industry. It is fiendishly difficult to set up a new bank due to Canada's proximity to the United States and the fear that larger international banks will (eventually) swallow up the Canadian banking system.

US banking is slightly easier, in the sense that one may be able to either go through the tortuous process of setting up your own bank, or buying a corporation with the requisite licenses and (ideally) existing customer base.

EDIT: Rogers Communications (a Canadian telecommunications provider) applied for a banking license in September 2011 and launched in 2013[1]. I believe the bar is somewhat lower for existing domestic/Canadian companies.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Bank

> Canadian banking is a protected industry. It is fiendishly difficult to set up a new bank due to Canada's proximity to the United States and the fear that larger international banks will (eventually) swallow up the Canadian banking system.

That said, once you get there, the sorts of things you're allowed to do as a bank are pretty staggering (but this tends to lead to efficiency, and in turn stability).

Added: There is a golden path to becoming a bank under the Federal Bank Act these days, and it generally includes becoming a creditor first. Much of the process is about waiting for nearly inevitable approvals.

It is very unlikely that you would be granted a banking charter in the United States for a 'challenger' bank model. The FDIC (and other regulators) have started to approve some de novo (new) banks[1], but these are very much the run of the mill community banks that are not looking to disrupt.

The regulators in the U.S. will finally give in, but we're more likely to see a 'challenger' bank as a spin out of an existing bank over the next few years IMO.

N26 and other UK/European challenger banks are entering the U.S. market this summer, but they will not have a banking license.

[1] https://www.americanbanker.com/slideshow/rebirth-the-de-novo...