How to participate in the Innovator Exchange
The Innovator Exchange is a unique opportunity for industry organizations to present their instant payment solutions and capabilities. Your exchange profile will be accessible to the public, including financial institutions, fintechs and businesses looking to adopt the FedNow® Service.
New submissions will be accepted and added to the exchange regularly. To update an existing submission, please email SYSFedNowCommunity@chi.frb.org.
Your submission must meet the criteria described below to participate in the exchange and must comply with the rules for participation. Keep reading for important details.
- Criteria for participation
- Submission process
- Official rules for participation
- Brand guidelines
- Frequently asked questions
Criteria for participation
To participate in the Innovator Exchange, your organization must:
- Be one of the following types of organizations:
- A financial institution service provider that enables financial institutions to offer instant payments to their customers by providing services such as transaction processing, FedNow connectivity, settlement, fraud management, digital banking services or more.
- An end user service provider that offers instant payment services to businesses or consumers, such as point-of-service terminals, payroll services, or software for accounts payable/receivable or bill payment.
- A financial institution live on the FedNow Service that offers liquidity management, correspondent services, or various instant payment solutions to organizations looking to utilize the network (e.g., fintechs, payment originating organizations or industry service providers).
- A consulting firm/system integrator that offers advisory services related to implementation of the FedNow Service.
- Have more than a tenuous intersection with the FedNow Service. Services that are only loosely associated with instant payments should not seek to participate in the exchange.
- Maintain a material physical presence in the U.S. or a U.S. Territory.
The Federal Reserve retains the right to reject any submission or terminate any existing profile in its absolute discretion.
Submission process
Applying to the Innovator Exchange is easy! After meeting the criteria for participation:
- Complete and submit the questionnaire. The questionnaire must be submitted in digital form online. The Federal Reserve Banks will not return your materials. You will receive an automated confirmation email once your form is received and will be notified in approximately three weeks whether your submission is accepted.
- The questionnaire will be reviewed for adherence to the rules for participation.
- If your submission is accepted, we will request a company logo for use in identifying/promoting your organization in the exchange. Include the highest-quality EPS/AI or vector file you have available. By submitting your documentation and logo, you authorize the Federal Reserve Banks to publish all intellectual property (trademarks, etc.) contained in such materials.
Official rules for participation
Please make sure to review the brand guidelines below to avoid any rework or corrections to your submission.
Your profile cannot:
- Be misleading.
- Suggest or imply, either directly or indirectly, any partnership or exclusive relationship with or any approval or endorsement by the Federal Reserve for the products or services being presented.
- Infringe on any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.
- Use copyright-protected material unless given express written permission from the copyright holder.
- Compare your services to that of other exchange participants, or promote any brands or organizations other than your own. If you include any mention or references to brands other than your own, you acknowledge that you have permission to do so.
- Contain any obscene or offensive language, or content that the Federal Reserve deems inappropriate for public viewing.
- Defame, threaten, harass or invade the privacy of a third party.
Regardless of compliance with the above limitations, the Federal Reserve retains the right to reject any submission for any reason in its sole and absolute discretion, and to terminate any profile in its sole and absolute discretion.
The Federal Reserve reviews submissions to establish, in its sole discretion, whether the materials meet the rules detailed herein for inclusion in the Innovator Exchange and do not negatively or inaccurately reflect on the Federal Reserve Banks.
You understand and acknowledge that you are not entitled to any compensation or other consideration for your profile.
By participating in the Innovator Exchange, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Federal Reserve Banks, their officers, employees, representatives and agents from any claims, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees and related disbursements) arising from or related to participation in the exchange, including but not limited to any claims, damages and expenses arising from or related to the actual or alleged infringement or violation of any patent, copyright, trademark or other proprietary right.
You grant the Federal Reserve Banks the right to use, reproduce, reprint, distribute, perform, display or exhibit the profile submission and other materials on their public website, at conferences, or in any other venues without further compensation or notification to you.
Brand guidelines
How to use the FedNow Service name
In your materials, you should refer to the FedNow Service as “the FedNow Service” or use a similar phrase where “FedNow” is used as an adjective and not a noun by itself. On first reference, also include a superscripted registered mark (“the FedNow® Service”).
Correct:
- Deliver instant payments with the FedNow® Service.
- Learn about FedNow instant payment features. (“FedNow” used as an adjective.)
Incorrect:
- Deliver instant payments with FedNow.
- FedNow offers many benefits for businesses and consumers. (“FedNow” used as a noun.)
For similar reasons, do not use “FedNow” within the name of your product or service.
Correct:
- Acme Instant Platform for the FedNow Service
Incorrect:
- Acme FedNow Instant Platform
How to describe the FedNow Service
The FedNow Service is an instant payments platform the Federal Reserve Banks launched in 2023 to provide financial institutions of every size, and in any location across the nation, access to safe and efficient instant payment services in real time, 24 hours a day.
Correctly describing yourself as a “certified” service provider
The Federal Reserve designation of being a “certified” service provider for the FedNow Service means that the organization is actively supporting, or fully prepared to actively support, payment processing for FedNow participants. Any submission or profile implying that being “certified” confers a more meaningful status will be rejected or returned for correction.
If you need additional details and language for your profile, please refer to:
How to describe your role with the FedNow Service
Be careful when referencing the FedNow Service name in your materials. Never imply a partnership or exclusive relationship with the Federal Reserve or suggest in any way that the Federal Reserve has endorsed or certified your products.
How to properly attribute trademarks and service mark notices
When citing other Federal Reserve Bank products and services, or other companies not affiliated with the Federal Reserve Banks, please refer to the Terms of Use page for more information about how to properly cite these entities. Commonly cited financial services products or third-party companies include:
- The Financial Services logo, “FedACH,” “FedLine” or “FedNow” must include superscript registered marks.
- “ISO” is a registered service mark of International Organization for Standardization and must include a superscript registered mark (e.g., “ISO® 2022”) on first reference.
Frequently asked questions
Where will my Innovator Exchange profile appear once approved?
Accepted submissions are added on a regular basis to the exchange, located on FRBservices.org. The quickest way to access the exchange from the FRBservices.org home page is by starting with the Financial Services tab, dropping down to FedNow Service, and then selecting Innovator Exchange.
What if my submission is not accepted?
If your submission deviates from the rules of participation, or if we request a change to your submission, we will contact you about revising your content. Please ensure you adhere to the rules for participation and submit a logo to help us add, at our sole discretion, your profile to the exchange.
Please make sure to review the brand guidelines to avoid edits or rework.
What if I change my product offerings in the future? Can I update my profile on the exchange site?
If you need to update your questionnaire responses in the future, or if you would like your submission removed at any point, please email SYSFedNowCommunity@chi.frb.org. We typically make requested changes to profiles, if they follow the rules of participation, within three weeks. We suggest that you review your complete profile and send us all updates in one request to help us update the site in a timely manner.
How long will my profile be posted on the Innovator Exchange?
All submissions remain on the Innovator Exchange indefinitely for the duration of the exchange, regardless of the date of submission, unless otherwise determined by the Federal Reserve Banks at our sole discretion. New submissions are added regularly.
What are the best practices I should consider while writing my submission?
Please note that the guidance above is intended to help you make your submission clear, minimize questions and edits, and simplify the process — but is not mandatory.
- View the exchange site to see how your materials will be displayed on the page.
- Be as accurate as possible when selecting options for each multiple-choice question.
Choosing options that don’t apply to your organization may cause confusion for exchange site users and could delay publication of your profile to the site.- Note that “Connectivity to the FedNow Service via FedLine® Solutions” should only be selected if your organization currently has a FedLine connection or is actively in the process of securing one.
- Spell out all acronyms on first reference.
- Include sufficient detail in your responses to help exchange visitors understand your offerings.
Can you tell me how many times my profile has been viewed?
We are not able to share data about any Federal Reserve websites. To help visitors find your profile on the exchange site, please make sure you have accurately responded to the multiple-choice questions, such as your organization’s segment/solution type. If you need to make updates to your profile, please email SYSFedNowCommunity@chi.frb.org.