Faster payments

The Federal Reserve released the volume of activity on its instant payments network since its launch last summer, showing a surge in usage between July and August.

The trucking and transportation industry is highly fragmented with hundreds of thousands of participants and different processing systems. The $1 trillion in revenue has drawn processors and card companies armed with new tech.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Christopher Waller said interlinking instant payments systems could come with a steep price tag for banks and heightened risks for customers.

Sen. Richard Blumethal, D-Conn., chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, asked bankers whether the Electronic Funds Transfer Act should be updated to include scams that involve authorized fund transfers.

Josh Williams, chief banking officer for Seattle Bank, explains how changes in payments technology will affect smaller institutions.

The Federal Reserve governor addressed misconceptions about the forthcoming instant payment system after delivering remarks on financial innovation.

Scams and fraud on real-time payment platforms are well documented. To solve the problem regulators, lawmakers and the public must acknowledge the inherent risks that come with a powerful new technology and develop rules to make it safer.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday that the central bank's real-time payments network will go live between May and July of 2023 and financial institutions should prepare themselves right away.

David Marcus, Facebook's financial services chief, discusses how its Novi digital wallet and the Diem stablecoin project it's involved in can be the backbone of a platform that offers real-time digital transactions, acts as a merchant acquirer and helps commercial banks handle central bank digital currencies.