House Democrats Consider Digital Wallets for Crisis Payments (2)

House Democrats want to use digital dollars and digital wallets to speed the disbursement of direct emergency funds to unbanked consumers as part of a Covid-19 economic stimulus plan.

Legislative text (H.R. 6321) issued Monday by the House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) would require large Federal Reserve banks and other financial institutions to provide digital wallets to individuals and joint tax filers eligible for direct governmental emergency payments currently under negotiation in the historic economic relief package.

Peer-to-peer digital currencies, like Bitcoin, typically have faster payment clearance times than traditional payment methods. But the Federal Reserve has ...