The Federal Reserve Is Organizing Two Task Forces to Streamline Real-Time Payments

In an effort to support its latest payments initiatives, the Federal Reserve is officially launching two new task forces.

The inception of the Faster Payments Task Force and the Secure Payments Task Force is a step forward in addressing issues from the Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System report that was released earlier this year. For now, the two forces are both looking for payment-system stakeholders with relevant knowledge and experience in the space.

“Diverse and committed membership will ensure a broad range of perspectives are considered as we pursue improvements to the U.S. payment system. We welcome and actively seek participation from the entire spectrum of payment system participants, including businesses and consumers,” said Esther George, Kansas City Fed president and executive sponsor of the task forces.

The Faster Payments Task Force focuses on increasing system speed and efficiency. Its goal is to identify the various pain points surrounding the complexities of faster payments systems. Participants who would like to join the group are required to register by April 17.

The Secure Payments Task Force takes on all things related to security. Establishing a forum for stakeholders to gather and advise the Federal Reserve on best practices for setting up massive networks and avoiding breaches and attacks is the priority of the participants in the group.

More importantly, the task force will serve as guidance for the financial institution’s commanding operator roles on payments security issues. The registration deadline for the group is May 15.

The Fed’s outlook on its plan to elevate its payment systems has been consistently positive. When asked about the report last January, George highlighted, “We believe the strategies and tactics in the plan have broad support and strong prospects for success.”