Federal regulators are moving to require certain payment stablecoin issuers to verify the identities of customers who open accounts directly with them, extending bank-style customer identification requirements into a digital asset sector that has been promoted as a faster, more flexible alternative to traditional payments. Under the proposal, permitted payment stablecoin issuers would be treated as financial institutions for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act and would have to maintain an effective customer identification program, including procedures for identifying and verifying account holders. .