For the last two years, the central bank has allowed the private sector to drive a process aimed at modernizing the nation's payments system. Now the Fed will have to determine what its own role will be.
An influential task force established by the central bank envisions a future in which the U.S. has multiple real-time payment systems, and in a new report it lays out a series of actions that will be necessary to stitch them together.
Though they face an array of competitive threats — from digital currencies to peer-to-peer payment apps — the vast majority of community banks do not have a payments strategy, according to a recent survey.
Using a program built by Ripple, BBVA has transferred about 50 euro-denominated payments to Mexico from Spain in seconds. Such transactions normally take up to four days to clear, the bank said.
Author Rachel Schneider on income volatility problems; Travis Dulaney talks instant payments; American Banker's Mary Wisniewski discusses the OCC's fintech charter, data aggregation battles, and alternative data.
Many banks and money transmitters have built successful billion-dollar businesses around P-to-P payments without social sharing and letting users send emojis.
When Zelle launches, it will not allow users to share information about their payments with other folks in their network. That decision puts the P-to-P service on a different course than Venmo, its fast-growing rival.
