OCC finalizes GENIUS Act rules for stablecoin issuers

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published final regulations on October 23, 2026, implementing the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act — the GENIUS Act — for payment stablecoin issuance by federally chartered banks and thrifts. The Federal Register rule takes effect January 18, 2027.

That makes this the first concrete OCC framework on record. Capital, liquidity, risk management, reserve composition, redemption mechanics, disclosure requirements, licensing — the OCC established these requirements to implement the structure the GENIUS Act created. Nationally chartered banks and thrifts seeking to issue payment stablecoins now have a final regulatory document to work from.

Congress enacted the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025. Section 13 gave each primary federal payment stablecoin regulator one year to publish implementing rules. That deadline passed. The Block reported July 18 that agencies still had only proposals pending when the window closed. The OCC had put out its proposed rule on March 2, 2026, collected roughly 328 comments, and didn’t publish a final version until October 23 — about three months late.

The January 18 effective date isn’t arbitrary. Under the GENIUS Act, the regime activates on whichever comes first: January 18, 2027, or 120 days after the primary federal regulators finalize implementing rules. The OCC rule itself is effective Jan. 18, 2027, while the Act’s broader effective-date mechanism depends on the statutory conditions.

The direct obligations described here apply to payment stablecoin issuers subject to the OCC’s jurisdiction.

The reporting timeline is where things compress quickly.

The OCC is separately proposing an information collection titled “Reporting Forms and Instructions for Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuers Subject to the Jurisdiction of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,” covering weekly and quarterly forms. Comments on that collection close November 23, 2026.

OCC Reporting Form PS-01, “Payment Stablecoin Activity and Reserve Weekly Reporting,” would take effect as of the January 25, 2027 report date. Form PS-02 — covering permitted payment stablecoin issuers and foreign payment stablecoin issuer reports of condition and income — starts with the March 31, 2027 report date.

The rule takes effect January 18. The proposed information collection would apply beginning with the January 25 report date — seven days after final-rule effectiveness — and PS-02 follows 65 days after that, with the March 31 report date arriving by late March.

The key dates in the OCC notices are November 23 (the comment deadline for the proposed information collection), January 18, January 25, and March 31.