The Federal Reserve proposed a new “payment account” that would allow fintechs, stablecoin issuers, and other nonbank institutions to access Fed payment rails directly, bypassing traditional bank intermediaries. The accounts would provide access to Fedwire and FedNow but exclude FedACH, prohibit overdrafts and discount window borrowing, and cap closing balances at $1 billion. The proposal includes a 90-day review timeline, which is much faster than the years-long delays that have typically governed master account applications.
Meanwhile, the Fed encouraged Reserve Banks to pause decisions on pending Tier 3 master account requests through year-end. For community banks, this could mean that correspondent banking and fintech deposit relationships could be moved elsewhere.
Rule: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20260520a.htm