The PACE Act

The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency (PACE) Act, a bipartisan bill that would allow qualified crypto and fintech payment companies to apply for direct access to federal payment rails for the first time.

Why PACE was introduced

Under the current structure, only traditional banks can access Federal Reserve payment rails directly. Crypto and fintech companies must route every transaction through a bank intermediary. This process adds transaction fees, settlement costs and delays.

If crypto and fintech companies gain access to federal payment rails, the added step of passing through a bank is removed, simplifying the integration of traditional finance and digital assets.

What is the Federal Reserve's payments infrastructure?

The Federal Reserve operates the core plumbing of U.S. dollar clearing and settlement. The primary systems:

Today, only traditional banks can access these systems directly. Under the PACE Act, qualified nonbank payments companies (including a crypto or fintech company) could apply to the OCC to become a Registered Covered Provider. If granted, this unlocks access to all three rails through a single payments reserve account held at the Federal Reserve.

What's required for payment companies

To be eligible, a firm must:

Once registered, the firm could connect directly to FedACH, FedNow, and Fedwire, settling transactions directly at the Federal Reserve level rather than through a bank partner.

The bigger picture

Moving dollars into and out of crypto has always required a bank in the middle. No matter how efficiently the crypto side of a transaction settles, the fiat leg has depended on traditional banking infrastructure, adding time, cost, and an additional step to every transaction.

The PACE Act would change this structure by allowing qualified crypto payment firms to access Federal Reserve rails directly. This could reduce friction in moving between traditional finance and digital assets, potentially improving speed and cost efficiency.