On May 19, President Trump signed two executive orders with direct banking implications. The first directs Treasury Secretary Bessent and financial regulators to review legal and regulatory frameworks governing Fed payment account access for uninsured depository institutions and fintech companies — timing that landed one day before the Fed’s own payment account proposal. The order signals administration priority in opening payment rails to a broader set of participants and frames current rules as “barriers to entry” that benefit incumbent banks.
The second order is more operationally immediate. It directs the Treasury to issue a financial advisory to banks identifying “red flags” tied to payroll tax evasion, off-the-books wage payments, labor trafficking, and concealment of account ownership, framed around undocumented immigrant financial activity. The order also directs the CFPB to consider modifying ability-to-repay regulations to account for deportation risk as a factor in loan repayment capacity, and directs regulators to consider changes to Bank Secrecy Act customer identification requirements.
The ABA responded cautiously, endorsing the goal of a safe financial system while warning that any player offering bank-like services must meet the same regulatory requirements as banks.
White House factsheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-integrates-financial-technology-innovation-into-regulatory-frameworks/