President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that could give crypto and fintech companies a pathway into the heart of America’s banking infrastructure, triggering a high-stakes fight over who controls the future of digital payments in the United States.
The order, signed May 19, directs federal regulators to review rules the White House says have protected large banks from competition while slowing financial innovation. Agencies are now being pushed to reconsider barriers that have kept many fintech startups, payment platforms and crypto businesses outside core parts of the U.S. payments network.
For Wall Street banks, the threat is obvious: companies that once relied on them to move money may eventually compete against them directly. At the center of the order is a request for the Federal Reserve to examine whether uninsured financial companies and digital asset businesses should receive broader use of Federal Reserve payment accounts and services.
If regulators ultimately allow wider participation, some fintech and crypto companies could bypass parts of the traditional banking system altogether, moving money faster and more cheaply without depending so heavily on established lenders.
That could reshape huge parts of the financial industry, from digital banking and online lending to payment apps, stablecoins and cross-border money transfers. The administration argues that outdated oversight and fragmented regulation have made it too difficult for smaller technology companies to compete against major financial institutions.
Inside the banking sector, executives are already weighing how much influence large banks could lose if technology-driven finance companies gain deeper access to the payment rails that power the U.S. economy.
Many major lenders spent years partnering with fintech companies on digital payments and online finance products. Now, some of those same businesses could become direct rivals if regulators open the system further. Legal analysts said the order marks a sharp break from the more restrictive approach taken during the Biden administration, when regulators resisted giving broader payment-network participation to many crypto and fintech operators.
Federal regulators now have 90 days to identify rules and guidance that may be slowing fintech partnerships or delaying approvals for charters, licenses and financial authorizations. Within 180 days, agencies are expected to begin taking steps designed to encourage more financial innovation.
That timeline is already creating tension across the banking and digital payments industries.
Fintech and crypto companies welcomed the move almost immediately. Many have spent years trying to move closer to the center of America’s financial infrastructure instead of operating through banking middlemen. Consumer groups reacted far more cautiously, warning that looser oversight around digital lending, crypto-linked products and fintech-bank partnerships could expose consumers to greater fraud, cybersecurity and financial risks.
The order does not immediately open Federal Reserve systems to non-bank companies, and regulators still control how aggressively the policy is implemented. Legal and operational obstacles also remain unresolved, especially around anti-money laundering rules, cybersecurity protections and financial stability.
Still, the message coming from Washington is becoming increasingly difficult for the financial industry to ignore: the White House wants fintech and crypto businesses playing a much larger role inside America’s banking system.
If regulators move aggressively, consumers could eventually see faster payments, more digital banking options and a growing number of financial services operating outside the traditional banking model.
For large banks, however, the order signals something far bigger — the possibility that control over America’s money system may slowly start shifting toward a new generation of technology-driven finance companies.
