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Fed Proposes New Payment Account, Tier 3 Access Paused.

5/22/2026

Summary

Fed Proposes Account

The Federal Reserve (Fed) Board proposed a “payment account” giving institutions access to Fed payment services for payments.
The account excludes intraday credit, discount-window borrowing, interest and overdraft protection, and covers federally insured banks, non-insured banks and non-bank firms under unchanged rules with a higher balance limit.
Reserve Banks asked Tier 3 institutions to pause access decisions until the policy is finalized after comment, after a December 2025 request and a May 20, 2026 tweet.

Summary

Fed Enables Access

The Federal Reserve issued a proposal after President Donald Trump’s order on master-account access.
Kraken Financial secured a master account in March, the first crypto firm with Fedwire access.
Ripple, Anchorage Digital and Wise are seeking Fed access under the new rules.
Analysts say the proposal creates a route for crypto-native banks and fintechs to use the Fed’s payment system, noting a 60-day comment period after Federal Register publication.

Summary

Fed Mandates Controls

The Federal Reserve (Fed) emphasizes that payment account holders must actively mitigate illicit-finance risks associated with their accounts.
The proposal requires automated controls that automatically prevent overdrafts on all payment transactions.
Media inquiries about the payment-account proposal can be sent to [email protected] or called at (202) 452-2955 during business hours for further information.

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Fed Proposes Account

The Federal Reserve (Fed) Board proposed a “payment account” giving institutions access to Fed payment services for payments.
The account excludes intraday credit, discount-window borrowing, interest and overdraft protection, and covers federally insured banks, non-insured banks and non-bank firms under unchanged rules with a higher balance limit.
Reserve Banks asked Tier 3 institutions to pause access decisions until the policy is finalized after comment, after a December 2025 request and a May 20, 2026 tweet.

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