WASHINGTON—Comments are due June 22 on a proposal to create a nonprofit association – the U.S. Faster Payments Council – that would coordinate the remaining implementation work identified by the Federal Reserve's payment task forces.
The goal of this council is to facilitate the creation of a "near real-time" payment system in 2020 in which Americans can conduct their payments safely and securely anywhere and at any time. The council will facilitate interoperability and encourage collaboration between industry stakeholders and regulators to address specific implementation challenges, NAFCU explained.
Those wanting to submit comments can do so here.
NAFCU, which has served on both the Fed's Faster Payments Task Force and Secure Payments Task Force, said the groups were formed as part of the Fed's "Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System." The association – through letters to and meetings with the Fed – said it has reiterated that the Fed should serve an "operational role" in the process of improving faster payments. The association also encouraged the Fed to leave the development of rules and standards for faster payments to private-sector organizations.
A new whitepaper created by NAFCU's regulatory compliance team, which is free for download now, explains how the demand for faster and more convenient payments is impacting credit unions' regulatory and contractual responsibilities.