The House Financial Services Committee held hearings on June 24 and 25 on the Payments Access and Consumer Efficiency Act. The bill would create an OCC registration pathway for nonbank financial technology companies to access Fedwire, FedNow, and FedACH directly.
Representative Young Kim highlighted the legislation as a payments modernization priority at the hearing. The PACE Act goes further than the Federal Reserve's Payment Account proposal published May 20, which offers nonbanks prefunded accounts for Fedwire and FedNow but excludes FedACH.
The Bank Policy Institute opposed the bill. No timeline has been set for committee markup or floor votes in either chamber.