The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has issued a draft rule that would require payment stablecoin issuers (PPSI) to conduct customer identity verification procedures.

Blockchain media outlet Bitcoin Magazine reported on June 18 that the move is part of follow-up legislative work by U.S. authorities to apply bank-level anti-money laundering (AML) discipline to digital asset markets.

The draft would require licensed payment stablecoin issuers to collect a legal name, date of birth or formation, physical address and a government-issued identification number before opening a new customer account. The framework proposed by the Fed is similar to the customer identification program (CIP) that banks, securities firms, mutual funds and futures brokers have used for more than 20 years. The Fed said it will take public comments for 60 days.

The rule is being pursued under the Genius Act signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in July 2025. The law created the first federal-level stablecoin regulatory framework in the United States and mandated 100 percent reserve holdings backed by liquid assets. It also brought stablecoin issuers under the Bank Secrecy Act for the first time, requiring anti-money laundering measures, sanctions compliance and the establishment of customer identification programs.

The law will take effect on the earlier of 120 days after the final rule is announced or Jan. 18, 2027. The final version of the customer identification rule is expected to be difficult to deliver before 2027, raising the possibility that the law could take effect before a customer identification framework is fully in place.

A core feature of the draft is that it reflects the distribution structure of the stablecoin market. Unlike banks, stablecoin issuers may be asked to redeem tokens not only by customers they issued directly to, but also by holders who bought tokens in secondary markets such as exchanges. The Fed therefore defined the moment redemption occurs as an "account" relationship. That means customer identification obligations arise at the time a buyer who purchased stablecoins on an exchange requests direct redemption from the issuer.

By contrast, purely secondary-market transactions in which the issuer is not a direct counterparty are excluded. Token movements in which the issuer is not involved, including transfers via smart contracts, are not considered an account relationship. Rather than covering all stablecoin distribution, it set the regulatory unit at the points where issuers and users directly meet.

Fed Governor Michael Barr (마이클 바) re-emphasised in a statement on the day the rule was announced vulnerabilities to money laundering in digital asset transactions. He also said at a Washington event in March that the quality of reserve assets, regulatory arbitrage, gaps in money laundering controls and financial stability concerns were major risks of stablecoins.

U.S. regulators' rulemaking is not limited to the Fed. In April 2026, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a joint draft rule requiring PPSI to adopt written anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing programs and sanctions compliance frameworks. The proposal also includes treating PPSI as a separate financial institution under the Bank Secrecy Act by separating them from the existing money services business category.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) are also pursuing rulemaking procedures covering licences, reserves, capital regulations and redemption standards. The customer identification draft would operate as a supplementary measure separate from these anti-money laundering and sanctions rules. Barr has said detailed rulemaking is important to turn the law's intent into enforceable safeguards, and the focus is shifting to how quickly each agency can align final rules within a tight implementation schedule.