FINRA's August 20, 2026 filing, which the Securities and Exchange Commission published on September 9 as document 2026-18293 (91 FR 57407), Release 34-106275, File SR-FINRA-2026-018, would add Rule 2166 as an optional safe harbor: a member firm may delay a disbursement or a securities transaction for up to ten business days when it reasonably believes fraud is targeting the customer, regardless of the customer's age or capacity.[1][2] The Commission is soliciting comments. FederalRegister.gov is an unofficial XML copy, so anyone who needs legal notice should use the official edition on govinfo.[1][2]
That pause would sit on the cash-out path that Rule 2165 currently reserves for Specified Adults. Rule 2165 already lets a firm place a temporary hold when it reasonably believes financial exploitation of a Specified Adult, meaning a person 65 or older or an adult 18 or older whom the firm reasonably believes has an impairment that leaves the person unable to protect their own interests.[1] Those holds now run an initial 15 to 25 business days, with one 30-business-day extension, for a current maximum of 55 business days.[1] The same filing would stretch that Specified Adult clock, in three further 30-business-day increments with follow-up conditions, to 145 business days.[1] Proposed Rule 2166 is a shorter pause for a different population. FINRA describes it as a speed bump for any customer.
So the trigger is a reasonable belief that fraud has occurred, is occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted.[1] Proposed Rule 2166(a)(4) would define fraud as a deceptive scheme by a third party that targets a customer and results in a request for a disbursement of funds, securities, or other assets, or a securities transaction, based on false or misleading information.[1] Identity theft and account takeovers are listed as examples.[1] Artificial intelligence appears in the purpose pages as background, through an FBI public service announcement dated December 3, 2024, and an INTERPOL assessment dated March 2026, because FINRA says criminals are using those tools.[1] Those citations stay in the purpose pages. The proposed rule still turns on the reasonable-belief record.
And a firm that used the safe harbor would have to notify the customer no later than two business days after placing the delay, and oral notice would count.[1] Notice to a trusted contact person would be optional.[1] The delay would expire no later than ten business days after it was first placed, unless a federal or state regulator, agency, or court terminated or extended it.[1] Records would have to keep the request, the basis for the belief, the name and title of the associated person who authorized the delay, the notifications, information given to the customer, and any later communications with authorities.[1] FINRA says the hold should come off when the reasonable belief ends.[1] The rule would not require a delay, and it would not stop a firm from using a contractual hold already in an account agreement.[1]
So how long that pause should last was the live comment fight. In Regulatory Notice 26-02, FINRA had asked about a five-business-day delay and received 26 comments.[1] Some commenters said five days would not be enough to reach the customer away from a scammer; six commenters supported five days.[1] FINRA is now proposing ten and says a longer pause would risk turning the speed bump into a freeze.[1] The filing would also change "funds or securities" to "funds, securities, or other assets" in Rule 2165 and in proposed Rule 2166, so that payment stablecoins covered by the GENIUS Act, Public Law 119-27, could sit inside the same pause.[1] A token leaving a wallet still has to be a disbursement or transaction the firm can actually delay.
The population that pause would cover is the ordinary retail book. As of December 31, 2025, FINRA counts at least 1,088 member firms that serve retail investors.[1] The filing cites FTC and FBI IC3 loss totals as the reason the pause should not stop at Specified Adults.[1] Those figures are FINRA's background, not an audit in this notice, and they do not decide whether a named transfer should wait.
Comments on SR-FINRA-2026-018 should be submitted on or before September 30, 2026.[1] Within 45 days of the September 9 publication, the Commission may approve the change, disapprove it, or start proceedings, or take longer if it designates up to 90 days.[1] Nothing in the notice makes Rule 2166 effective today. This is orientation, not legal, compliance, securities, or investment advice.
Verification bottleneck
The scarce check is whether a firm can show a reasonable-belief record for a named disbursement before it uses a ten-business-day pause, and whether that pause stays distinct from the longer Specified Adult hold.
- Criminals can generate urgency faster than a firm can reach a customer, which is why FINRA wants a short delay. The filing still requires a documented basis, an authorizer, and customer notice within two business days.
- Supervisors, fraud teams, and later examiners would have to verify the object: which request was delayed, why the firm believed it was fraud under the proposed definition, who authorized it, and when the belief ended.
- Watch the September 30, 2026 comment deadline, whether the Commission treats 2166 as a ten-day speed bump rather than a 145-day freeze, and whether "other assets" is applied to payment stablecoins the firm actually holds.
Opportunities
Where value may appear is a single-request delay worksheet. For one outgoing wire, stablecoin transfer, or securities sale it would record the customer, the asset, the time of the request, the facts that supported a reasonable belief of fraud, the associated person who would authorize a pause, the time of customer notice, whether a trusted contact was called, and the time the belief ended. Legal conclusions stay with qualified counsel. Idea fodder only.
A lighter companion is a comment packet against SR-FINRA-2026-018: whether ten business days is enough to reach the customer, how the delay would sit next to any contractual hold already in the account agreement, and whether the firm's "other assets" inventory includes payment stablecoins.
Sources
[1] Securities and Exchange Commission, "Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend FINRA Rules 0150, 2165 and 4512 and To Adopt FINRA Rule 2166 (Temporary Delays for Suspected Fraud)," 91 FR 57407, September 9, 2026, FR Doc. 2026-18293, Release 34-106275, File SR-FINRA-2026-018. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/09/2026-18293/self-regulatory-organizations-financial-industry-regulatory-authority-inc-notice-of-filing-of-a
[2] Official PDF, 91 FR 57407. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-09/pdf/2026-18293.pdf