Welcome to the October 25, 2026 edition of Money Explored—the essential Sunday briefing to stay ahead in fintech.
The US has written its first stablecoin rulebook, and it keeps interest off the coin. Within a day a bank found another way to pay interest, while Stripe let AI agents into the accounts big banks keep shut.
Three signals. One direction: interest and automation are finding the side door.
THIS WEEK:
OCC's stablecoin yield ban: The first final federal rulebook for US stablecoin issuers, in force from 18 January.
SoFi's deposit token: An insured bank deposit that moves like a stablecoin and pays 4.4%.
Stripe's agent accounts: ChatGPT and Claude can now pay invoices and move a startup's cash.
Plus: HSBC's own stablecoin goes live, the UK tells Apple to open tap-to-pay, and a global bank buys its crypto custodian outright.
This edition is published in partnership with Lovable. See how founders are turning an idea into a live product, ready to take payments, in a weekend below.
🌎 Major Stories
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator that charters national banks, finalised its stablecoin rules on 21 October. They put the GENIUS Act, the 2025 law that set up US stablecoin rules, into practice. The rules set how issuers hold reserves, redeem coins and keep customer assets safe. They take effect on 18 January 2027. Rules on money laundering and sanctions will follow separately, written with the Treasury.
Strategic Takeaway: The fight was over yield, and the OCC split the difference. Issuers still cannot pay interest to holders. But rewards paid through partners are no longer treated as suspect by default. Each will be judged on its facts. That keeps rewards alive, the outcome banks feared would pull deposits away. For builders: if your product pays stablecoin rewards through a partner, ask whether it would survive a case-by-case review.
SoFi has started rolling out SoFi Earn to its crypto customers. It is a tokenised deposit: a bank deposit recorded as a digital token. Each token is $1 held at SoFi Bank and covered by FDIC insurance. It paid 4.40% a year as of 20 October. Fortune says SoFi is the first bank to offer tokenised deposits to consumers.
Strategic Takeaway: The law bans issuers from paying interest on stablecoins. Bank deposits sit outside that ban. SoFi's token swaps one-for-one into its own stablecoin, so it moves like one but pays like a savings account. That gives chartered banks something stablecoin issuers cannot legally offer. For operators: if you hold customer cash in stablecoins, compare what a tokenised deposit would pay against what you can pass on.
Stripe launched Treasury for agents on 21 October. AI agents such as ChatGPT and Claude can now check balances, pay invoices, move funds and convert currencies in a business's Stripe account. The business picks which accounts an agent can see, and whether it can act or only read. It also decides when a human must approve a payment. The accounts are held at Fifth Third Bank, and spending limits for agents are due within weeks.
Strategic Takeaway: Big banks are going the other way. Citi says it has blocked any agent trying to reach its systems. It wants a "know your agent" check first, modelled on the checks banks run on customers. A Reuters report says JPMorgan and Bank of America also block outside agents. So the first wave of agent payments runs through fintechs and their partner banks. For operators: ask your bank whether an approved AI agent can pay on your behalf, and under what controls.
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