“The Federal Reserve today announced the anticipated pricing approach for its FedNow Service for instant payments. “We are providing broad information about our pricing approach well in advance of our 2023 launch to support financial institutions and their service providers as they plan for implementation of the FedNow Service,” said Ken Montgomery, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston interim president, chief executive officer and FedNow program executive. “Industry input will continue to help us respond to instant payment needs, further frame out our pricing approach and move toward service launch.””

“The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) asked the Federal Reserve to accelerate the flow of information about the FedNow instant payments service to ensure community banks have the data they need to maximize participation ahead of the 2023 launch…Among its FedNow recommendations in a letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, ICBA called for more information on the 2023 launch date, regular updates on core processor and technology partner readiness, details about onboarding and testing, and additional research on community bank and customer opportunities.”

“The Federal Reserve today launched new resources for the U.S. payments industry to facilitate education, preparation and ecosystem innovation in support of instant payments, a type of faster payment that provides payees with immediate access to funds, enabled by real-time final settlement between financial institutions.”

“Esther George, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City today announced that the FedNow payment system is now expected to be ready in 2023. In a conversation with American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols at ABA’s Annual Convention, George said the FedNow payment system will be delivered “sooner rather than later” and encouraged banks to start preparing for the rollout.”

“About 75% of U.S. businesses surveyed by the Federal Reserve last year said they expect to start using faster payments, or to make more use of them soon, with 90% of the big businesses on board for that change, according to a Fed report issued Tuesday . Still, fewer than 60% of micro businesses are likely to tap faster payments anytime soon.Overall, 90% of the 2,010 U.S. businesses surveyed by the Fed expect to use faster payments in their operations by 2023, and many are ready for that upgrade now, the Fed said in the report. The survey, conducted in the second half of last year, included large and small businesses from an array of industries, including retail, manufacturing and professional services.”

“Since the official program launch in early 2021, the FedNow Pilot Program has seen noteworthy collaboration and engagement from 120 participating financial institutions and processors . As members of the broader FedNow Community, pilot participants reflect a diverse group of organizations of all sizes from a wide range of geographic locations and market segments. As part of the program, pilot participants attend two sessions each month in addition to optional discussions offered by FedNow Service subject matter experts…Currently, FedNow Pilot Program participants are contributing to the development of the FedNow Service Readiness Guide, an educational resource to support organizations on their journey to implement instant payment capabilities, by reviewing an early draft of the guide and proposing additional topics or edits for consideration.”

“The FedNow Service will provide financial institutions an innovative platform they can use to unlock instant payment use cases and create new solutions they can offer to individual and business customers. Making the FedNow Service accessible to financial institutions of all sizes is a top priority of the Federal Reserve Banks. To help make this a reality, we’re implementing flexible design features such as the ability to choose from a variety of FedNow participation types.  As financial institutions prepare for the FedNow Service, they should start thinking about which of the following FedNow participation types will allow them to support their business and customer needs. Financial institutions can enable almost any combination of participation types, with a few exceptions. Each participation type allows for several different configurations to be flexible and meet each financial institution’s needs.”

“The Federal Reserve has launched a two-year pilot program, called FedNow, designed to make the clearing and settlements process faster, cheaper and more convenient for individuals and businesses by speeding payments to recipient. Five regional banks are among those participating in the program… In Northern California, the list of pilot participants includes First Republic Bank, Tri Counties Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Pacific Coast Bankers’ Bank and First Foundation Bank. Participating California credit unions include Excite Credit Union, Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union, and Star One Credit Union.”

“The Federal Reserve has released message specifications for the initial launch of its FedNow Service for instant payments based on the standard set by the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO. The FedNow ISO 20022 specifications define the message flows and formats that the service will leverage when operational in 2023…The Federal Reserve also collaborated with The Clearing House to optimize compatibility between the two U.S. instant payment services, which are likely to have common users across the industry. In addition, the individual FedNow message flows and implementation guidelines were validated by experts on the FedNow Community ISO 20022 Working Group and other industry participants in the FedNow Community, including participants from BNY Mellon.”

“Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: JKHY ), a leading provider of technology solutions and payment processing services primarily for the financial services industry, confirmed it will participate in the FedNowSM pilot program. Participating in the program provides the banks and credit unions that leverage JHA PayCenter ™ to seamlessly connect to instant payment networks, more choices and interoperability for their faster payment offerings.”

“Finastra announced that it has joined the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Pilot Program to support development, testing and adoption of the FedNowSM Service. Finastra joins other progressive banks, credit unions and payments technology organizations in the FedNow Community to help shape the future of payments and develop use cases that leverage FedNow functionality.”

“The new year is off to a fast start for the FedNow Service. We recently announced the 120+ strong pilot participant roster and a narrowed timeframe — now 2023 — for our industrywide service launch. Next on the horizon is the publication of the ISO 20022 message specifications for the FedNow Service. These specifications will define the message flows and formats that FedNow users and service providers will need to support at the initial service launch. As we move closer to the March publication date, we want to share the planning process behind the specifications to give you a sense of what to expect when we release them.”

“With development of the FedNow Service well under way, the Federal Reserve today amended the industrywide launch timing for its instant payments platform to 2023. The announcement narrows the delivery timeframe by a full year, updating a previous notice in 2019 that indicated industrywide availability in 2023 or 2024. “Over the last several months, we’ve made significant strides toward our program milestones for the FedNow Service,” said Esther George, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and executive sponsor of the FedNow program.”

“Volante Technologies , the global leader in cloud payments and financial messaging, today announced their participation in a pilot program for the Federal Reserve’s upcoming instant payments offering, the FedNowSM Service . The offering highlights the industry’s charge to provide American consumers and businesses with instant payments services that deliver control, convenience and certainty.”

“With the Federal Reserve’s announcement last week that more than 110 financial institutions and processors have signed up for  a pilot of the FedNow real-time payments service, third-party service providers are working to smooth the way for small banks that might otherwise be left on the sidelines. “We’re filling the niche for mid-size and smaller institutions,” says a spokesman for Juniper Payments, a Wichita, Kan.-based company that transmits files for automated clearing house and wire transfers. The company, one of about a dozen service providers on the Fed’s pilot list, already offers real-time processing via The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC’s network , launched in 2017, and through the Fed’s FedWire Funds Service and its own On-We Junifunds Network for wires.”

“The Federal Reserve Banks today announced that more than 110 organizations are participating in the pilot program for their upcoming instant payments offering, the FedNow Service. The program will support development, testing and adoption of the FedNow Service, as well as encourage development of services and use cases that leverage FedNow functionality. A key objective in selecting participants for the pilot was to ensure diverse representation across financial institutions and service providers, connection types, settlement arrangements and experience levels.”

“The Federal Reserve announced the creation of the FedNow Pilot Program to support development, testing and adoption of the FedNow Service. This program continues efforts to foster industry partnerships in the development of the new instant payments service. Over the coming weeks, the Federal Reserve will accept expressions of interest in the pilot program from eligible members of the FedNow Community , including financial institutions, as well as service providers and payment processors that partner with financial institutions.”