Overview
- The Federal Reserve joined FinCEN, the OCC, the FDIC and the NCUA in a joint notice that proposed written Customer Identification Programs for permitted payment stablecoin issuers, which opened a 60‑day public comment period on Thursday.
- Under the draft rule issuers would verify customer identity before opening an account by collecting name, address, date of birth or formation date, and a government‑issued ID number and retain records of that verification.
- Agencies said CIP duties would apply to direct issuer relationships such as account opening, issuance, custody, reserve management and redemption while generally excluding most secondary‑market transfers unless a redemption creates an account relationship with the issuer.
- Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr publicly warned the proposal may not do enough to curb illicit finance in secondary‑market activity, and one report said Fed Chair Kevin Warsh abstained from the vote while former Chair Jerome Powell supported it, signaling internal debate.
- The proposal is one piece of a fast‑moving, multi‑agency GENIUS Act implementation effort that could raise compliance costs, favor well‑resourced bank‑linked issuers, and must be finalized before statutory triggers that could make the law effective early next year.