The Federal Reserve opens new account types for FinTech, with "restricted rights" becoming the balance point between innovation and risk control

【ChainNews】The Federal Reserve has recently been planning something interesting—opening limited “payment accounts” to some financial institutions.

In simple terms, these institutions can use the Federal Reserve’s payment network for clearing and settlement, but they won’t enjoy the full rights that banks currently have. It sounds like they’re looking for an intermediate state.

What does Fed Governor Waller say about this? This design can both “support innovation” and avoid disrupting the payment system. Specifically—these accounts won’t generate interest income, can’t access the Fed’s credit services, and will have a balance cap. In other words, they can use the infrastructure, but with controlled permissions.

As early as October last year, Waller mentioned this idea. The context was clear at the time: the Fed wanted to provide fintech companies and similar institutions with easier access to payment services, but couldn’t give them full main accounts—after all, these institutions operate in a relatively relaxed regulatory environment. This new account type is, to some extent, a balance between the two.

For fintech platforms looking to expand their payment services, this indeed opens a door.