Zenus Bank Gets US Regulatory Approval
- Founded by Mushegh Tovmasyan, the challenger bank allows anyone to open a US bank account

A new challenger bank was awarded a license by US regulatory authorities on Monday. Zenus Bank, which is based in Puerto Rico, has received a permit to begin operations.
The company was founded by Mushegh Tovmasyan, an ex-Retail Trading Retail Trading In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail traders in every market ranging from commodities to stocks. The forex market is by far the largest and has the most retail traders. Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the broader foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. In 2020 it is estimated that the forex market will exceed 7 billion dollars in daily activity. Retail Trading Sector Continues to GrowThe retail sector has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which have allowed individuals to access the global currency markets. In 2016, it was reported that volume from retail foreign exchange trading represents 5.5% of the whole foreign exchange market or $385 million in daily trading turnover. Individual retail traders can access the same trades as central banks and online financial institutions. The retail forex trading industry is growing every day with the advent of trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet.Retail traders rely on brokerage services who provide access to markets in the form of comprehensive trading platforms. The most common of these are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer trading to forex, stocks, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and other assets. In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail traders in every market ranging from commodities to stocks. The forex market is by far the largest and has the most retail traders. Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the broader foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. In 2020 it is estimated that the forex market will exceed 7 billion dollars in daily activity. Retail Trading Sector Continues to GrowThe retail sector has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which have allowed individuals to access the global currency markets. In 2016, it was reported that volume from retail foreign exchange trading represents 5.5% of the whole foreign exchange market or $385 million in daily trading turnover. Individual retail traders can access the same trades as central banks and online financial institutions. The retail forex trading industry is growing every day with the advent of trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet.Retail traders rely on brokerage services who provide access to markets in the form of comprehensive trading platforms. The most common of these are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer trading to forex, stocks, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and other assets. Read this Term executive who held senior sales positions at Alpari before founding Divisa Capital.
"We are solving a key financial inclusion challenge by enabling remote access to best in class global banking products and services for people around the world," said Tovmasyan, who is also chairman of Zenus.
"Being first to market and innovating within the banking space comes with plenty of challenges - so Zenus Bank has been investing heavily to integrate a unique combination of technologies from leading vendors to achieve our mission."
Open access US bank accounts
Like other challenger banks, such as Monzo and Revolut, Zenus will not have any physical offices.
Instead, clients will be able to open an account via their phone, tablet, or computer. Any problems with their account can then be dealt with through an application.
Unlike other challenger banks, however, Zenus will allow people from anywhere in the world to open an account. That means someone living in Europe or South America can access a US bank account.
"These sign-ups are coming predominantly by word of mouth as there has not yet been any marketing effort by the Bank while we focus on the build-out of our infrastructure and technologies," said Weiyee In, chief strategy officer at the bank.
A new challenger bank was awarded a license by US regulatory authorities on Monday. Zenus Bank, which is based in Puerto Rico, has received a permit to begin operations.
The company was founded by Mushegh Tovmasyan, an ex-Retail Trading Retail Trading In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail traders in every market ranging from commodities to stocks. The forex market is by far the largest and has the most retail traders. Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the broader foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. In 2020 it is estimated that the forex market will exceed 7 billion dollars in daily activity. Retail Trading Sector Continues to GrowThe retail sector has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which have allowed individuals to access the global currency markets. In 2016, it was reported that volume from retail foreign exchange trading represents 5.5% of the whole foreign exchange market or $385 million in daily trading turnover. Individual retail traders can access the same trades as central banks and online financial institutions. The retail forex trading industry is growing every day with the advent of trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet.Retail traders rely on brokerage services who provide access to markets in the form of comprehensive trading platforms. The most common of these are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer trading to forex, stocks, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and other assets. In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail traders in every market ranging from commodities to stocks. The forex market is by far the largest and has the most retail traders. Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the broader foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. In 2020 it is estimated that the forex market will exceed 7 billion dollars in daily activity. Retail Trading Sector Continues to GrowThe retail sector has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which have allowed individuals to access the global currency markets. In 2016, it was reported that volume from retail foreign exchange trading represents 5.5% of the whole foreign exchange market or $385 million in daily trading turnover. Individual retail traders can access the same trades as central banks and online financial institutions. The retail forex trading industry is growing every day with the advent of trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet.Retail traders rely on brokerage services who provide access to markets in the form of comprehensive trading platforms. The most common of these are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer trading to forex, stocks, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and other assets. Read this Term executive who held senior sales positions at Alpari before founding Divisa Capital.
"We are solving a key financial inclusion challenge by enabling remote access to best in class global banking products and services for people around the world," said Tovmasyan, who is also chairman of Zenus.
"Being first to market and innovating within the banking space comes with plenty of challenges - so Zenus Bank has been investing heavily to integrate a unique combination of technologies from leading vendors to achieve our mission."
Open access US bank accounts
Like other challenger banks, such as Monzo and Revolut, Zenus will not have any physical offices.
Instead, clients will be able to open an account via their phone, tablet, or computer. Any problems with their account can then be dealt with through an application.
Unlike other challenger banks, however, Zenus will allow people from anywhere in the world to open an account. That means someone living in Europe or South America can access a US bank account.
"These sign-ups are coming predominantly by word of mouth as there has not yet been any marketing effort by the Bank while we focus on the build-out of our infrastructure and technologies," said Weiyee In, chief strategy officer at the bank.