The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued a final rule to implement the GENIUS Act, marking an important step in the development of the US regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The move brings greater regulatory clarity to a sector increasingly connected to mainstream financial services. For banks, fintechs, and digital-asset companies, the implementation of the law will be important to how stablecoin-related products and services develop. The rule also underscores the growing role of banking regulators in shaping the future of digital money.
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The Enterprise Guide to Stablecoin Earn Programs
Stablecoins are increasingly used in payroll, marketplace payouts, and cross-border business payments. For example, DoorDash is working with Tempo to introduce stablecoin payouts for merchants and dashers, and Deel launched a stablecoin wallet that allows contractors to receive, hold, and spend their compensation.
McKinsey estimates that stablecoins supported $390 billion in real payment volume in 20251, more than double the previous year.
Enterprises offering stablecoin accounts can embed Earn programs into their products, allowing customers to earn yield on their balances. Earn programs can create value in three ways:
Drive revenue
Platforms can retain a portion of the yield earned on customer balances or package an Earn program as a premium feature.
Attract new users
Earn programs can help a wallet provider or a neobank stand out when competing products offer similar payment, card, and transfer features.
Deepen customer engagement
Earn programs deepen engagement with other revenue-generating products, such as paycheck deposits or cards, and incentivize customers to hold larger balances.
When advising customers on their Earn programs through Tempo Advisory engagements, we recommend focusing on three things:
Asset choice
Earn programs generate yield from tokenized money market funds, alternative credit funds, and DeFI lending protocols. Asset choice is one of the most important decisions in an Earn program.
Product design
The success of the Earn program depends on the product design that enables seamless onboarding, privacy, and integrations with the rest of the product offering, such as cards.
Time to market
Launching an Earn program can take from one to six months. Choices around assets, the technology stack, and partners can delay the launch or increase costs without materially improving the proposition.
This report is intended as a starting guide for companies considering an Earn program, covering the key decisions around asset choice, product design, and time to market, the questions we hear most often from customers, and the common pitfalls we see.
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