Welcome to the Top 3 Innovative Payments News Headlines for the Week of July 7, 2025. This week highlights major developments shaping the future of payments.
Kicking things off, the Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) has confirmed it will adopt the ISO 20022 messaging standard for the Fedwire Funds Service, effective July 14, 2025. This much-anticipated upgrade aims to modernize and streamline high-value payments across the U.S. financial system.
In a major policy change, the Fed also announced it will remove reputational risk from its bank examination programs-an adjustment crypto advocates have supported for years. This move could pave the way for the broader adoption of mainstream cryptocurrency banking services.
Meanwhile, FinTech leaders Ripple, Circle, and Wise have applied for national trust bank charters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), marking a bold move toward deeper integration with the traditional banking system.
Read on to learn more.
1. Confirmed: ISO® 20022 will be implemented July 14 for the Fedwire®Funds Service (FRBServices.org)
For the past several years, Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) has worked with the industry to prepare for the upcoming ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service on July 14, 2025. As announced on June 18, FRFS will move forward with implementing the new ISO 20022 message format on July 14, as planned.
The Fedwire Funds Service's ISO 20022 software and production infrastructure will remain unchanged. We recommend that customers and vendors continue to test and verify their internal procedures through July 11. (Read more.)
2. FinTechs Pursue Direct Connections to the Fed with National Trust Bank Charters (PYMNTS.com)
For several FinTechs, in the move to broaden scale and scope to a nationwide level, all roads lead to the Fed. As has been reported in recent days, FinTechs including Wise, Ripple , and Circle have applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for national trust bank charters. In doing so, should the applications be approved, the charters would allow these firms to sidestep the piecemeal approach of obtaining state-by-state licenses, and in other cases (as would be seen with Wise, which is based in the U.K.), relying on correspondent banking for cross-border money movement. (Read more.)
3. Fed Quietly Removes Reputational Risk Rule that Kept Banks Away from Crypto-Industry (Yahoo Finance)
The Federal Reserve just made a move that could quietly reshape crypto's relationship with traditional banking. The Fed announced on June 23 that it will drop reputational risk from its bank examination programs-a change that crypto advocates have been pushing for years and one that could finally open the floodgates for mainstream crypto banking services. While the Fed's announcement sounds like regulatory wonkery, it strikes at the heart of crypto's biggest problem: banking access. For years, crypto companies have struggled to maintain basic banking relationships, not because they posed financial risks, but because banks feared regulatory blowback over the industry's controversial reputation. (Read more.)
What is your financial institution doing to complete preparations for the July 14 ISO 20022 implementation? What do you think-will the Fed's decision to remove reputational risk from its banking examination program open the floodgates for mainstream crypto banking services?
Check back soon for our next issue, which will highlight the industry's most pressing and essential developments. In the meantime, visit us online at Innovating Payments.
 |
... |
AUTHOR: Joe Casali, AAP, AFPP, APRP
Executive Vice President
As the EVP of Payments Innovation for NEACH, Joe focuses on exploring innovative solutions and technologies that will help position members for success, both now and in the future. Connect with Joe to read more of his blogs, articles, and posts.
|