A coalition of five U.S. financial regulators — the Federal Reserve, FinCEN, OCC, FDIC, and NCUA — have jointly proposed new customer identification requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. The proposed rule aims to require issuers to implement risk-based customer identification programs and integrate with existing anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) frameworks.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in its proposed rule, explicitly extends the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to stablecoin issuers, mandating comprehensive AML/CFT programs. Issuers would need to comply with reporting obligations from FinCEN and sanctions enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This includes customer identification programs, suspicious activity reporting (SARs), and currency transaction reporting (CTRs), along with ongoing transaction monitoring for illicit activity.
Public comment is open for 60 days, with final rule implementation to be determined. Non-compliance could result in civil penalties, criminal referrals, or revocation of operating authority. The regulation marks a significant effort to align stablecoin oversight with traditional financial safeguards.
