Federal agencies jointly charged with overseeing stablecoin are asking for public comment on a proposed rule for permittee payment stablecoin issuers.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), jointly together with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) (collectively, the “Agencies”) have proposed a rule that would require stablecoin issuers to establish and maintain an effective customer identification program under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act).
That legislation established the regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and put NCUA in charge of licensing, regulating and supervising permitted payment stablecoin issuers that are subsidiaries of federally insured credit unions, including for Bank Secrecy Act examinations. The GENIUS Act also classifies permitted payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions.
“This is the next step to ensure that permitted payment stablecoin issuers are fully integrated into Bank Secrecy Act regulations”, NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman said. The rule mirrors current CIP requirements for credit unions, he said. “It sets clear standards for identifying and verifying account holders and safeguards the interests of credit unions and their members. By establishing robust customer identification requirements, we are reinforcing our commitment to preventing money laundering and terrorist financing in our financial system.”
The proposed rules were issued last month, and outlines the operational and risk management standards for licensed payment stablecoin issuers. In February the agencies issued a proposed regulation that would govern the applications of permitted payment stablecoin issuers subject to NCUA’s jurisdiction.
The public has 60 days to make comments once the regulation is published in the Federal Register.