US Federal Reserve moves towards faster payments

Federal Reserve banks in the US are moving ahead with plans to implement a faster payments system in order to improve the country’s payment infrastructure.

The US Federal Reserve is aiming to implement a faster payments system

The Federal Reserve banks are planning to publish a roadmap in the coming months, having released a consultation paper in September 2013 soliciting comments on gaps and opportunities in the payment system. By the close of the exercise in December 2013, the Federal Reserve had received over 200 responses, with more than half coming from non-banks.

The Federal Reserve has also been carrying out research into three specific areas: faster retail payments and the different approaches that could be taken to this; gaps and opportunities related to security; and the business case for adopting the ISO 20022 international payment standard.

The Fed will now gather all the research and stakeholder feedback and put together a roadmap for payment system improvements over the next few months.

Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said: “The Federal Reserve remains committed to its mission of payment system integrity, efficiency and accessibility, and we look forward to ongoing collaboration with stakeholders this year and beyond to improve the ability of the US payment system to meet evolving end-user needs for speed, efficiency and security.”

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