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FedNow: The Federal Reserve's New Instant Payments System
The Federal Reserve announced on July 20, 2023 that its new instant payments system, FedNow, is now live. FedNow allows businesses and individuals to send and receive payments in real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
How does FedNow work?
FedNow is a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. This means that payments are settled in real time, which means that the recipient has access to the funds immediately. FedNow is similar to the RTP network, which is operated by The Clearing House. However, FedNow is available to all financial institutions, while RTP is only available to large banks.
What are the benefits of FedNow?
There are a number of benefits to using FedNow, including:
- Real-time payments: With FedNow, payments are settled in real time, which means that the recipient has access to the funds immediately. This can be helpful for businesses that need to make quick payments to suppliers or employees, or for individuals who need to send money to friends or family members in an emergency.
- 24/7/365 availability: FedNow is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means that payments can be made at any time, regardless of the day of the week or the time of day. This can be especially helpful for businesses that need to make payments outside of regular business hours.
- Lower fees: The Fed has said that it expects the cost of FedNow payments to be lower than the cost of other instant payments services. This could make FedNow a more affordable option for businesses and individuals.
How can I use FedNow?
To use FedNow, you will need to be a customer of a financial institution that participates in the FedNow service. Once you are a customer of a participating financial institution, you can send and receive instant payments through your bank's mobile app or online banking platform.
What are the future plans for FedNow?
The Fed plans to continue to expand the FedNow service in the coming years. The Fed plans to add more financial institutions to the FedNow network and to increase the maximum transaction amount. The Fed also plans to add new features to the FedNow service, such as the ability to send and receive international payments.
Overall, FedNow is a major step forward in the modernization of the U.S. payments system. It offers a number of benefits that could make it a valuable tool for businesses and individuals.
