On 2025-11-12 Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller announced that “streamlined payment accounts” will be operational by Q4 2026, giving non-bank fintechs and digital-asset firms risk‐tailored direct access to Fed payment infrastructure without full master-account privileges; an RFI will precede rulemaking. This matters because it reduces reliance on bank intermediaries, accelerates payment innovation and product roadmaps, and changes competitive dynamics. Key benchmarks: ACH processed 8.8 billion payments worth $23.2 trillion in Q3 2025 (vol +5.2%, value +8.2% YoY); The Clearing House RTP handled 115 million transactions worth $405 billion in Q3 2025 (vol +7%), with a single‐day record of 1.8 million on 2025-10-03; FedNow did 2.51 million payments ($307.3 billion) in Q3 2025 and is raising its cap from $1M to $10M this month. Immediate next steps: respond to the RFI, prepare compliance/tech readiness, and watch RFI publication expected late 2025–early 2026.