Washington, D.C. (July 21, 2017)—The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) today voiced support for the Federal Reserve Faster Payments Task Force’s final report detailing its ten recommendations to enhance the speed, efficiency and security of the U.S. payment system. ICBA and community bankers were active participants in the Task Force.
“ICBA appreciates the Federal Reserve’s leadership in bringing all payments system participants together to develop solutions around universal faster payments,” ICBA President and CEO Camden R. Fine said. “Community banks are looking for the fastest, most secure methods for their customers to send and receive payments, which is consistent with their relationship business model. To accomplish this, changes to governance and infrastructure will need to occur. Simply put, rules and standards need to change as well as ensuring access for all banks and their customers.”
The Faster Payments Task Force’s ten recommendations will set the standard for making payments faster and more accessible to everyone. These recommendations focus on three key areas, including governance and regulation, infrastructure, and sustainability and evolution. As such, they call upon the entire payments industry to continue collaborating in order to establish a ubiquitous way for people and institutions to make and receive payments.
In addition to the ten recommendations released today, the Task Force also highlighted the 16 faster payments solution proposals, including a joint proposal by ICBA and North American Banking Company.
“While the Federal Reserve’s final report represents a significant step toward faster payments, there is still much work left to be done,” Fine said. “The Federal Reserve needs to take the next step and play an operational role in real-time payments, which will enable banks of all sizes access to faster payments.”
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America®, the nation’s voice for more than 5,800 community banks of all sizes and charter types, is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy, best-in-class education and high-quality products and services. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.
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