Federal Reserve moves toward narrower, crypto-driven take on master accounts

The U.S. Federal Reserve took a first step toward establishing a more limited version of its so-called master accounts, welcoming input on how the central bank might formulate "payment accounts" that would grant access to its payment rails without firms having to jump through the considerable hoops that would grant fuller services.

The Fed said in a Friday statement that it was requesting information on how to satisfy the incoming requests from firms that rely on new technology to more easily tap into services "for the express purpose of clearing and settling the institution’s payment activity," according to a board memo on the concept. The public comment window will be open for 45 days.

Fed master accounts are direct conduits for financial firms into the central bank's payment rails. They can be difficult to obtain, and that's been a struggle for some crypto firms.

"These new payment accounts would support innovation while keeping the payments system safe," said Governor Christopher Waller, in a statement. "This request for information is a key first step to ensuring that the Fed is responsive to evolutions in how payments are made."

Waller had spoken in favor of the idea before, having pitched it as a "skinny" master account in October. In Friday's descriptions, the accounts wouldn't pay interest, give access to credit from the Fed and would have balance caps.

Governor Michael Barr, the Democratic appointee who was the Fed's regulatory chief until the arrival of the administration of President Donald Trump, said he was opposing the request on grounds that it's "not sufficiently specific about safeguards to protect against the accounts being used for money laundering and terrorist financing by institutions we do not supervise."