Federal Reserve Banks move to improve U.S. payment system

The Federal Reserve Banks today announced the publication of their “Payment System

Improvement – Public Consultation Paper” and an opportunity to provide input on the information, ideas and concepts in the document.

Sandra Pianalto, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and chair of the Federal Reserve Banks’ Financial Services Policy Committee (FSPC), stated the purpose for the paper is “to share Federal Reserve perspectives on the key gaps and opportunities in the U.S. payment system and identify the desired outcomes that close these gaps and capture these opportunities.”

The Federal Reserve recently conducted an analysis of the payment environment to understand opportunities for improvement consistent with our vision of a safe, efficient and accessible U.S. payment system from end-to-end. Some of these recurring themes centred around faster payments, closed payment communities, obstacles in international payments, the mobile technology revolution and lack of contemporary features in
traditional payment channels.

In addition to seeking broad industry input on the gaps, opportunities and desired

outcomes, the Fed is also requesting input on potential strategies and tactics to shape the future of the U.S. payment system and the Federal Reserve Banks’role in implementing these strategies and tactics.

“Success in achieving improvements will require collaboration across the industry,” commented Pianalto. “We have already begun extensive discussions with external parties on these important topics, and we look forward to receiving additional feedback on this consultation paper as we jointly explore the most promising ideas for U.S. payment system improvements.”

To respond to the survey questions outlined in the consultation paper, please visit
FedPaymentsImprovement.org. Responses may be submitted until December 13, 2013. All written responses will be made public and may be viewed on the website.

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