Japan’s Financial Services Agency has decided to finalize a new set of rules under the Funds Settlement Act, paving the way for a broader set of payments-related measures that will take effect on June 1, 2026. The package covers electronic payment methods, including stablecoins, intermediary businesses for crypto assets and electronic payment services, as well as money transfer businesses, according to the agency’s announcement. The FSA said the new order, cabinet orders and associated guidelines were published together after a public comment process and will be implemented from June 1.
The most closely watched change concerns trust-style electronic payment methods, where the FSA has said that reserve assets for specific trust-beneficiary entitlement-like instruments can now be invested not only in demand deposits but also, under certain conditions, in government bonds and cancellable term deposits. The regulator also set out clearer requirements on the permitted allocation ratio and safeguards designed to prevent loss of principal, signaling a more detailed compliance framework for issues and depositories than before. In previous FSA explanatory documents, officials noted that Japan had already introduced stable rules in 2022 and that the new revision aimed to give more flexibility to issues while preserving consumer protection.
New regulations on crypto intermediaries
Another major element of the reform is the creation of a new intermediary category for electronic payment instruments and crypto assets. The FSA said the newly created intermediary company now has rules covering registration, information that must be explicitly disclosed to users, explanation obligations, prohibited conduct and other user protection measures, as well as the contents of required books and records. In the agency’s policy documents, the goal of the new framework is to regulate only companies that act as intermediaries, rather than imposing a large-scale licensing burden designed for companies that actually hold their clients’ assets. This distinction should be important for companies that want to connect users to cryptoasset or stablecoin services without operating as full exchanges or payment issues themselves.
The package also addresses cross-border payment activities and the treatment of certain foreign-related payment structures. The FSA said the reforms define categories of cross-border collection and payment arrangements that are excluded from the rules on foreign exchange transactions, while also clarifying how banks, investors and their subsidiaries can participate in the new intermediary activities. At the same time, the agency said it received 259 comments from 62 individuals and organizations during the consultation process, suggesting that the rules attracted considerable attention from industry participants and legal observers before being locked down.
For Japan, these changes mark another step in the slow but steady normalization of stablecoins and digital payment tools within the formal financial system. Rather than treating the sector as a narrow crypto niche, the FSA is simultaneously extending more structured regulation to payment instruments, intermediaries and money transfer services. This approach suggests that Tokyo wants innovation to advance, but only within a closely supervised framework that puts reserve assets, disclosures and user protections at the center of the system. With the effective date of June 1 now set, businesses in affected sectors will need to align their operations with the new rules almost immediately.