Arriving early next year, the Office of Financial Technology will build on and incorporate the Office of Innovation, which the OCC established in 2016 to coordinate agency efforts to support "responsible financial innovation".

The new office will be led by an as yet unnamed chief financial technology officer, who will be a deputy comptroller reporting to the senior deputy comptroller for bank supervision policy.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu says: "Financial technology is changing rapidly and bank-fintech partnerships are likely to continue growing in number and complexity.

"To ensure that the federal banking system is safe, sound, and fair today and well into the future, we need to have a deep understanding of financial technology and the financial technology landscape."