Welcome to the March 2026 Innovating Payments Executive Summary.
In this issue, the White House held its third round of CLARITY Act discussions on February 19, but participants, including senior legal experts from the cryptocurrency industry and representatives from the banking sector, were unable to reach an agreement.
The Federal Reserve is seeking feedback on a proposal to formalize the removal of reputational risk from bank supervision. In related news, Michelle W. Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, discussed the future of banking at the 2026 Banking Outlook Conference. Additionally, Michael S. Barr, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, delivered a speech at the New York Association for Business Economics, addressing the implications of artificial intelligence for the labor market and the economy.
In other news, the Clearing House’s RTP® Network achieved a new milestone by processing 2.05 million payments, marking the first occasion the network has handled over 2 million transactions in a single day.
On the digital assets front, Crypto.com has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a National Trust Bank Charter. Payoneer also filed an application with the OCC to establish PAYO Digital Bank, N.A., a national trust bank designed to support stablecoin-enabled infrastructure for global businesses.
Finally, we invite you to join us for our FinTech Integration Leadership Series. This 12-module online course prepares leaders at all levels to design, launch, and manage fintech programs with full institutional oversight.
Read on to learn more.
Top Headlines
White House Convened Third Round of Discussions on the CLARITY Act
On Thursday, February 19, the White House held its third round of discussions on the CLARITY Act, but participants—including senior legal experts from the cryptocurrency industry and representatives from the banking sector—were unable to reach an agreement, the Daily Coin reported.
According to the publication, discussions focused on whether stablecoin issuers and platforms should be allowed to offer interest-like incentives to stablecoin users, while financial institutions are pushing for tighter restrictions on interest-like payments related to stablecoins, “warning that on-chain yield products could attract deposits away from the traditional financial system and distort competition.”
There is currently no update on the next round of discussions. We will continue to provide updates as the story develops.
The Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve Board Seeks Comments on Proposal to Formalize Removal of Reputation Risk from Bank Supervision
Building on previous steps to eliminate reputation risk from its oversight of banks, the Federal Reserve Board on February 23 requested feedback on a proposal to formalize that removal, according to a news release. The proposal reaffirms the Board's policy against penalizing or blocking an institution from banking a customer engaged in lawful activities.
"We have heard troubling cases of debanking—where supervisors use concerns about reputation risk to pressure financial institutions to debank customers because of their political views, religious beliefs, or involvement in disfavored but lawful businesses," said Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle W. Bowman. "Discrimination by financial institutions on these bases is unlawful and does not have a role in the Federal Reserve's supervisory framework."
This change does not alter the Board's expectation that banks maintain strong risk management to ensure safety and soundness, as well as compliance with laws and regulations.
Comments are due within 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
To learn more, click on the links below:
The Next Horizon in Banking, Atlanta, Georgia
Michelle W. Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision, delivered the opening remarks via pre-recorded video on February 19 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s 2026 Banking Outlook Conference: The Next Horizon in Banking, held in Atlanta, Georgia.
“An important principle guiding our work is regulatory and supervisory tailoring,” Bowan said. “This requires adjusting our approach to the risk that banks of different sizes and complexity pose to the financial system, in addition to the institution’s risk profile. This risk-based approach must be articulated clearly, particularly in its application to community banks.”
The Fed is considering changes to the community bank leverage ratio to provide greater flexibility while maintaining strict capital standards. This will allow community banks to better support local communities and lend to households and businesses. The mutual bank capital framework is also being reviewed to ensure flexibility without compromising safety and soundness.
The Fed is “well underway with work to modernize regulations for large banks, revising the four pillars of our capital framework: stress testing, the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR), Basel III, and the G-SIB surcharge,” she said. The goal is to reduce volatility, strengthen model robustness and transparency, and ensure that any significant future changes include public input.
To read Michelle W. Bowman’s comments in their entirety, click here.
What Will Artificial Intelligence Mean for the Labor Market and the Economy?
Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Michael S. Barr, in a speech delivered on February 17 at the New York Association for Business Economics, addressed the implications of artificial intelligence for the labor market and the economy.
AI, particularly generative AI, is likely to become a “general-purpose technology” like the steam engine, electricity, and personal computers, said Barr. He pointed out that these technologies are characterized by widespread adoption, continual improvement, and a cascade of downstream innovations in new goods or services, production processes, and business structures.
“I expect that AI will have a transformative effect on the economy and affect a large share of workers in ways that will challenge the ability of the private and public sectors to accommodate this adjustment,” he concludes. “In the longer run, I expect AI will boost productivity and living standards, and it may even lead to new discoveries. Society will need to be nimble and bold to reduce the pain of short-term dislocations for workers and to ensure that the benefits are broadly shared. Widespread AI adoption will very likely lead to dramatic and sometimes difficult changes in the way many of us work and live, but the long-term benefits could be even more dramatic.”
You can click here to read Barr’s comments in their entirety.
RTP
In other news, the RTP® network, operated by The Clearing House, recently set new single-day records for payment volume and value, milestones that underscore the vital role of instant payments in today’s economy, according to a news release.
On Friday, February 13, the RTP network, which handles 98% of all bank-to-bank instant payment volume in the United States, processed 2.05 million payments – the first time the network has reached or gone over 2 million transactions in a single day. This new milestone exceeds the previous record of 1.91 million payments, set just one week earlier.
Additionally, on Wednesday, February 18, the RTP network achieved a new single-day record of $8.36 billion.
You can read the release in its entirety here.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
Crypto.com Receives Conditional Approval from OCC for National Trust Bank Charter
Crypto.com announced on February 23 in a news release that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter Foris Dax National Trust Bank, d.b.a. Crypto.com National Trust Bank.
With this conditional approval, Crypto.com reaches a significant milestone in its effort to offer industry-leading custodial services—including custody, asset staking across various blockchains and digital asset protocols, such as Cronos, and trade settlement—as a federally regulated institution. This further establishes Crypto.com as the preferred qualified custodian. Once fully approved, Crypto.com National Trust Bank will function as a federally regulated national trust bank under OCC oversight.
“This conditional approval is the latest testament to both our commitment to compliance and to providing customers trusted and secure services they expect from Crypto.com,” said Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com in the release. “This milestone brings us a major step closer to meeting leading institutions’ needs for a one-stop-shop qualified custodian under a gold standard of federal oversight.”
Payoneer Aims to Launch Stablecoin-Focused Digital Bank
Payoneer, the global financial technology company powering business growth across borders, announced February 24 that it has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish PAYO Digital Bank, N.A., a national trust bank designed to support stablecoin-enabled infrastructure for global businesses, said a company news release.
The passage of the GENIUS Act created a new federal framework for stablecoins in the United States. If approved, PAYO Digital Bank would allow Payoneer to use this new framework to introduce stablecoin innovations into the daily operations of small and medium-sized businesses worldwide through a federally regulated trust bank.
"Payoneer is at the forefront of cross-border payments, and we believe stablecoins will play a meaningful role in the future of global trade," John Caplan, Chief Executive Officer of Payoneer, said in the release. "Through PAYO Digital Bank, we aim to provide customers with a trusted and regulated way to leverage the latest payment innovations as part of their global financial operations."
NEACH
As the above news items illustrate, the payments landscape is evolving at an unprecedented rate, making ongoing education more important now than ever. Fintech partnerships and embedded payments are no longer optional—they're transforming the competitive landscape and regulatory expectations for every financial institution.
To help you navigate this shifting landscape, we invite you to join us for our FinTech Integration Leadership Series, hosted in collaboration with Braid. This 12-module online course equips leaders at every level to design, launch, and govern fintech programs under full institutional oversight—turning disruption into a competitive advantage while safeguarding reputation and profitability.
Click here to learn more.
NEACH - New England Automated Clearing House Association is a neutral, member-focused advocate. Our role is to give you the intelligence, context, and connections you need to make informed strategic decisions. We bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators so you can evaluate innovation through the lens of your institution’s mission and market strategy. For more information, visit neach.org.