[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3571 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3571
To require member banks to maintain pass-through digital dollar wallets
for certain persons, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 23, 2020
Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require member banks to maintain pass-through digital dollar wallets
for certain persons, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Banking for All Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Digital dollars.--The term ``digital dollars'' means
dollar balances consisting of digital ledger entries recorded
as liabilities in the accounts of any Federal reserve bank.
(2) Digital dollar wallets.--The term ``digital dollar
wallet'' means a digital wallet or account, maintained by a
Federal reserve bank on behalf of any person, for the purpose
of holding digital dollar balances.
(3) Member bank.--The term ``member bank'' means any
national bank, State bank, or bank or trust company which has
become a member of one of the reserve banks created by the
Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et seq.).
(4) Pass-through digital dollar wallets.--The term ``pass-
through digital dollar wallet'' means a digital wallet or
account, maintained by a member bank on behalf of any person,
entitling that person to a pro rata share of a pooled reserve
balance that the member bank maintains at any Federal reserve
bank.
(5) Postal retail facility.--The term ``postal retail
facility''--
(A) means post office, post office branch, post
office classified station, or other facility that is
operated by the Postal Service, the primary function of
which is to provide retail postal services; and
(B) does not include a contractor-operated facility
offering postal services.
(6) Postal service.--The term ``Postal Service'' means the
United States Postal Service.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY AND MANDATE FOR MEMBER BANKS TO MAINTAIN PASS-THROUGH
DIGITAL DOLLAR WALLETS.
(a) Obligations of Member Banks.--
(1) In general.--Member banks shall open and maintain pass-
through digital dollar wallets for all persons, including
persons eligible to receive payments from the United States
pursuant to a Federal law relating to the coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19), who elect to deposit funds into pass-through
digital dollar wallets.
(2) Maintenance of assets.--
(A) In general.--Each member bank shall establish
and maintain a separate legal entity for the exclusive
purpose of holding all assets and maintaining all
liabilities associated with pass-through digital
wallets.
(B) Contents.--The assets of any entity described
in subparagraph (A) shall consist exclusively of a
balance maintained in a master account at a Federal
reserve bank, and the liabilities or obligations of the
entity shall consist exclusively of an equal quantity
of balances maintained by holders of pass-through
digital wallets.
(C) Capital or liquidity regulation.--The assets
and liabilities of any legal entity described in
subparagraph (A) shall not be deemed assets or
liabilities of the member bank or its affiliates for
purposes of any capital or liquidity regulation
promulgated by Federal or State banking authorities.
(D) Online application requirement for large
banks.--Member banks with total consolidated assets
greater than $10,000,000,000 shall promptly offer
application, through online or telephonic means, for
pass-through digital wallets.
(b) Terms of Pass-Through Digital Dollar Wallets.--Pass-through
digital dollar wallets--
(1) shall not be subject to any account fees, minimum
balances, or maximum balances and shall pay interest at a rate
not below the greater of the rate of interest on required
reserves and the rate of interest on excess reserves;
(2) shall provide functionality and service levels no less
favorable than those that the member bank offers for its
existing transaction accounts, including with respect to debit
cards, automated teller machines, online account access,
automatic bill-pay, mobile banking, customer service and such
other services as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System determines appropriate in the public interest, provided
that digital dollar wallets shall not include overdraft
coverage;
(3) shall be prominently branded in all account statements,
marketing materials, and other communications as ``pass-through
FedAccounts'' maintained by the member bank on behalf of the
Federal Reserve;
(4) may not be closed or restricted by the bank on the
basis of profitability considerations; and
(5) shall provide account holders with reasonable
protection against losses caused by fraud or security breaches.
(c) Reimbursement for Costs.--
(1) In general.--Each postal retail facility and each
member bank with total consolidated assets of not greater than
$10,000,000,000 shall be reimbursed each calendar quarter by
the relevant Federal reserve bank for the actual and reasonable
operational costs incurred by the postal retail facility or
member bank in offering pass-through digital dollar wallets.
(2) Regulations.--The Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System shall promulgate such regulations as necessary
to carry out this subsection.
(d) Authority of the Board.--Member banks shall be subject to such
regulations and obligations as may be imposed by the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System in connection with maintaining pass-
through digital dollar wallets.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR STATE NONMEMBER BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS TO OFFER
PASS-THROUGH DIGITAL DOLLAR WALLETS.
The Federal reserve banks shall permit State nonmember banks and
credit unions to open master accounts for the exclusive purpose of
offering pass-through digital dollar wallets in compliance with the
separate entity structure described in section 3(a), if--
(1) the pass-through digital wallets comply with the terms
set forth in section 3(b); and
(2) each State nonmember bank or credit union electing to
offer pass-through digital wallets shall be entitled to cost
reimbursement in accordance with section 3(c).
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY AND MANDATE FOR FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS TO MAINTAIN
DIGITAL DOLLAR WALLETS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
(a) Authorization.--Subject to such restrictions, limitations, and
regulations as may be imposed by the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, each Federal reserve bank may maintain digital dollar
wallets.
(b) Mandate.--
(1) In general.--All Federal reserve banks shall, not later
than January 1, 2021, make digital wallets available to all
residents and citizens of the United States and to businesses
domiciled in the United States.
(2) Limited branches.--In areas where access to physical
member bank branches is limited, including in low- or moderate-
income geographies, designated disaster areas, distressed or
underserved non-metropolitan middle-income geographies, as
designated by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination
Council, Federal reserve banks shall partner with postal retail
facilities to ensure access and availability to application and
account services for all residents and citizens of the United
States and to businesses domiciled in the United States.
(c) Terms of Digital Dollar Wallets.--Digital dollar wallets--
(1) shall not be subject to any account fees, minimum
balances, or maximum balances, and shall pay interest at a rate
not below the greater of the rate of interest on required
reserves and the rate of interest on excess reserves;
(2) shall provide debit cards, online account access,
automatic bill-pay, mobile banking, customer service and other
such services as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System determines appropriate in the public interest, provided
that digital dollar wallets shall not include overdraft
coverage;
(3) shall provide, in conjunction with the Postal Service,
access to automatic teller machines to be maintained on behalf
of the Board of Governors of the Postal Service at postal
retail facilities;
(4) shall be branded in all account statements, marketing
materials, and other communications as ``FedAccounts''
maintained by the Federal reserve bank on behalf of the United
States of America;
(5) may not be closed or restricted on the basis of
profitability considerations; and
(6) shall provide account holders with reasonable
protection against losses caused by fraud or security breaches.
(d) Bank Secrecy Act.--In establishing and maintaining digital
dollar wallets, each Federal reserve bank shall comply with--
(1) section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12
U.S.C. 1829b);
(2) chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91-508 (12 U.S.C.
1951 et seq.); and
(3) subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States
Code.
(e) Privacy.--Section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), shall apply to digital dollar
wallets, and the privacy obligations applicable to each Federal reserve
bank and its employees, including with respect to criminal and civil
penalties, shall mirror those applicable to Federal tax returns under
sections 6103, 7213(a)(1), 7213A, and 7431 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall
promulgate regulations carrying out this Act.
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