Anchorage Digital Says Fed’s Proposed ‘Payment Account’ Isn’t a Viable Alternative to Master Accounts

Anchorage Digital said the Federal Reserve’s proposal to create a payment-processing-only “Payment Account” for certain financial institutions would not be a practical alternative to existing master accounts, The Block reported on July 29.

The crypto bank said it supports the Fed’s effort to improve access to the US payments system. It added that the new framework could place it and many other financial institutions into a heightened-scrutiny category.

Anchorage Digital also argued that limiting access to FedACH, the central bank’s electronic payments system, would significantly reduce the usefulness of the Payment Account. Without access to FedACH, institutions with such accounts would still have to rely on intermediaries for routine payments and settlement, leaving the new account structure short of a true replacement for master accounts.