karel de Jong

🚨BIG NEWS out of the @federalreserve Payments Innovation Conference this morning. Governor Chris Waller announced the central bank is proposing a new type of limited-access master account (or what he calls a “skinny master account”) for ALL legally eligible institutions to receive direct access to the Fed’s payments rails so they don’t have to rely on partner banks. With this setup, they wouldn’t access all the services of a full master account, like the ability to borrow from the Fed. Importantly, every legally eligible entity could get one, and the legal rules for eligibility wouldn’t change. Essentially this new master account lite would allow the Fed to green light innovative banks, including fintechs, stablecoin issuers and other payments companies. This is a big deal for companies like @custodiabank and @krakenfx, which have spent years trying to get a Fed master account, with Custodia even taking the Fed to court. It could also speed access for companies like @Ripple and @Anchorage, which applied this year.