A Federal Reserve master account is the full name for what is usually called simply a master account: the account that a bank or other eligible institution holds on the books of one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks. It records the institution's balances with the central bank and is the account through which its payments settle.
An account gives direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment services, among them the Fedwire Funds Service, the FedACH service and FedNow. An institution without one must reach these systems through a correspondent bank that has one, which adds cost and dependence.
Access is the subject of continuing dispute. Federally insured banks obtain accounts as a matter of routine, but applicants with novel charters, such as a Wyoming special purpose depository institution or an uninsured trust company serving crypto or payment firms, have faced long reviews and some denials. In 2022 the Federal Reserve Board issued guidelines sorting applicants into three tiers by how they are insured and supervised, with the strictest review for uninsured, non-federally supervised institutions. Courts have been asked whether Reserve Banks have discretion to refuse an eligible applicant, and in May 2026 the Federal Reserve Board proposed a limited "payment account" for payment-focused firms, with no interest, intraday credit or discount window access, which had not been finalized by November 2026.