OCC Issues Final Payment Stablecoin Rule Under Federal GENIUS Act

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has released its long awaited final rule governing payment stablecoins, implementing the supervisory framework established under the federal GENIUS Act. The regulatory package sets explicit operational, reserve, and risk management criteria for national banks and federal savings associations that issue or custody digital dollar tokens. By establishing hard statutory boundaries, the OCC seeks to integrate dollar pegged digital currencies directly into the formal national banking system while neutralizing liquidity run vulnerabilities.

Under the newly published standards, any payment stablecoin operated by a federally chartered financial institution must maintain one to one backing exclusively in short duration US Treasury securities, central bank reverse repurchase agreements, or liquid cash deposits. The rule outright prohibits the use of commercial paper, unhedged corporate credit instruments, or volatile collateral arrangements to back token redemption obligations. Additionally, issuers must submit to daily public attestation routines and maintain third party verification standards certified by approved accounting authorities.

The regulatory guidance addresses commercial payment issuers such as those backing USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD, requiring commercial issuers wishing to access direct central bank clearing services to obtain specialized federal trust charters. Unregulated or foreign operators, including offshore token sponsors behind USDT, will face tighter barriers when interfacing with domestic banking rails unless they align their internal balance sheet practices with the strict transparency guidelines defined by the OCC.

Industry leaders and banking representatives have largely welcomed the regulatory clarity, noting that vague oversight has hindered major institutions from deploying native payment tokens at commercial scale. With the GENIUS Act standards now formally codified, domestic lenders have a defined legal process to deploy digital cash equivalents across enterprise settlement lines, wholesale corporate treasuries, and consumer financial platforms throughout 2026 and beyond.