U.S. President Donald Trump has directed the Federal Reserve to evaluate its policies on granting fintech firms, including crypto companies, direct access to the Fed's payment rails.
Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, titled "Integrating financial technology innovation into regulatory frameworks," urging the federal government to remove policies that may be "overly burdensome."
Under the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Reserve banks have the authority to approve or deny applications for access to Fed payment rails. Qualified applicants are generally licensed depository institutions, prompting some crypto firms to pursue a federal charter license.
"To foster this financial innovation, the Federal Government must update regulations to allow integration of digital assets and innovative technology into traditional financial services and payment systems," the order said.
The order refers to fintech firms as non-bank companies, including those operating digital asset-related and blockchain-based services.
