Anchorage Digital Says Fed Payment Account Cannot Replace Traditional Primary Accounts

Anchorage Digital argues the Fed’s proposed payment account lacks critical features like FedACH access and reserve interest, making it an inadequate substitute for traditional primary accounts held by national banks.

Woofun AI reports that Anchorage Digital stated the Federal Reserve’s proposed payment account cannot replace traditional primary accounts. In a commentary supporting the Fed’s modernization efforts, Anchorage Digital noted the proposed account lacks FedACH access, imposes overnight balance limits, provides no intraday liquidity, and pays no reserve interest. The firm argued these deficiencies prevent it from serving as a viable alternative to the primary accounts held by member national banks for over a century. Anchorage Digital emphasized that the absence of FedACH access forces continued reliance on intermediaries for daily payment settlements and called for simplifying primary accounts to include reserve interest payments. Last year, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller introduced the concept of "simplified primary accounts."