Federal Banking Agencies Propose CIP Requirements for Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuers Under the GENIUS Act

On June 22, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration jointly published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that would implement the customer identification program (CIP) requirements of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs). The proposal would require PPSIs to establish and maintain a written, risk-based CIP as part of their anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) program, including procedures for collecting identifying information, verifying customer identities, maintaining records, and addressing circumstances in which a customer’s identity cannot be verified. The proposal also would permit PPSIs that are subsidiaries of insured depository institutions to operate under a single AML/CFT program, provided the program appropriately addresses the risks of each entity and satisfies applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. In addition, PPSIs may rely on another regulated financial institution’s CIP under specified conditions, including reasonable reliance, the other institution’s compliance with applicable AML/CFT and CIP requirements, and a contractually required annual certification that it has implemented its AML/CFT program and will perform the specified requirements of the issuer’s CIP. Comments on the proposal must be received by August 21.

On June 24, the OCC published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that would establish AML/CFT and sanctions compliance requirements for OCC-supervised PPSIs under the GENIUS Act and create a supervision and enforcement framework for such PPSIs’ AML/CFT programs. The proposal would require such PPSIs to comply with certain OFAC and FinCEN regulations, including maintenance of effective AML/CFT and sanctions compliance programs. The OCC stated that the proposed rule would “merely codify” that OCC-regulated PPSIs must comply with regulations issued by FinCEN and OFAC and does not expect the rule to result in significant impacts beyond those already accounted for in Treasury’s related rulemakings. Comments on the proposal must be received by July 24.

On June 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rescinded its December 2020 advisory opinion on Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, concluding that the opinion conflicts with the CFPB’s April 2026 amendments to Regulation B. The rescinded opinion described the content that a for-profit organization must include in a written plan for an SPCP, including permission for the organization to require SPCP participants to share a common characteristic, such as race, national origin, or sex. The April 2026 amendments, however, prohibit SPCPs from using race, color, national origin, or sex to determine eligibility. The CFPB also expressed constitutional concerns about the extent to which the opinion could have been read as authorizing discrimination on a prohibited basis.

On June 17, the OCC issued a bulletin to remind the public of the standards it applies when making decisions on filings. The bulletin describes the OCC’s authority to approve, conditionally approve, deny, or return a filing as materially deficient if it lacks sufficient information for the agency to evaluate the applicable statutory or regulatory criteria. It also notes that a filing may be returned as materially deficient if required information is missing, including biographical or financial information for individuals, corporate background or financial information for entities, sufficient detail regarding proposed products and services, or adequate responses to OCC requests for additional information. The bulletin identifies situations in which the OCC may deny a filing, such as if it identifies significant supervisory or compliance concerns, determines that approval would be inconsistent with applicable law, regulation, or OCC policy, or the filer fails to provide requested information. The OCC indicated that it will provide written notice of the reasons for a denial and make denial decisions public.