Key Points
- The U.S. Treasury has designated BNY Mellon as financial agent and partnered with Robinhood as brokerage and initial trustee for the new Trump Accounts program.
- A dedicated Trump Accounts app is being developed as a white-label product, giving families a single platform to access and manage their children’s accounts.
- Treasury will retain control over the app and operations, with strict oversight and security controls under its longstanding financial agent authority.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that it has designated The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY) as a financial agent of the federal government to support the rollout of Trump Accounts — a new savings program aimed at building wealth for American children.
As part of the arrangement, Robinhood will serve as the brokerage and initial trustee, placing the popular fintech platform at the center of one of the most ambitious government savings initiatives in recent memory.
Last week, the IRS announced that 4 million families had already opted to open a Trump Account.
How The Partnership Works
The partnership pairs one of the oldest financial institutions in the country with one of the newest. BNY, which traces its roots to 1784 and manages more than $50 trillion in assets under custody, will handle the initial account infrastructure and help build the Trump Accounts app. Robinhood, the commission-free brokerage that rose to prominence during the meme-stock era, will manage the brokerage side and serve as the program’s first trustee.
The Trump Accounts app is being designed as a custom, white-label product built exclusively for Treasury. The National Design Studio is working alongside Robinhood to create what officials describe as an intuitive interface that will let families explore and manage their Trump Accounts.
Treasury will retain full control over the app and day-to-day operations for the initial wave of accounts.
Treasury, Robinhood, and BNY
Treasury’s authority to designate financial agents is not new. The department has longstanding statutory powers to appoint qualified financial institutions to perform services for the U.S. government in a fiduciary capacity. These designations come with strict oversight requirements, performance standards, and security controls intended to protect public funds.
That said, the choice of Robinhood as brokerage partner is unexpected. The company paid $26 million in 2025 to settle FINRA charges related to anti-money laundering and disclosure violations, and it faced intense public criticism during the GameStop trading restrictions in early 2021.
Robinhood has since expanded its product lineup and grown its customer base, but the selection as trustee for a government savings program marks a significant step in the company’s history.
BNY’s role, by contrast, is more conventional. The firm regularly serves as custodian and agent for large-scale government and institutional programs. Its involvement lends operational heft and institutional trust to the initiative.
What This Means For Families
For families, the program is designed to remove common barriers to opening investment accounts for children. Rather than navigating multiple brokerages or comparing fee structures, eligible families will have a single, government-backed platform to set up and monitor accounts.
Treasury officials have emphasized that the goal is to make participation as frictionless as possible — particularly for families who may not have existing brokerage relationships.
Over 4 million Americans have already signed up for the program, with over 1 million claiming their $1,000 seed fund baby bonus.
Treasury has signaled that additional guidance will follow as the app nears launch. What is clear is that every eligible child is intended to have access to a Trump Account, and the app is the primary channel through which families will interact with the program.
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Editor: Colin Graves
Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading voices on student loan debt and saving for college. He holds an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and has spent over 15 years researching, writing, and advising on student loans, 529 plans, financial aid programs, and saving and investing for young professionals.
Robert has been featured in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Forbes, where he has been a regular personal finance contributor for over a decade. His work combines both professional expertise and personal experience – he successfully navigated his own student loan repayment journey and has helped thousands of readers do the same.
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