FedNowSM Community Bill Pay Collaboration Update

In October, the Federal Reserve held two roundtable discussions on the proposed bill pay functionality for the FedNow Service. Key stakeholders from more than 25 small, medium and large financial institutions attended these discussions to contribute their ideas and expertise for bill pay functionality relating to instant payments.

The first roundtable focused on the current state, including challenges and gaps in current bill pay processes and request for payment (RFP) functionality. The second discussion focused on potential bill pay capabilities and solutions. Roundtable participants provided valuable feedback on these topics. Key takeaways included:

  • Desire to address perceived challenges and gaps in current bill pay processes, including delays in check processing, high costs associated with correcting errors and difficulties in communicating with billers.
  • Strong interest in RFP functionality, including rules surrounding expiry dates, fraud controls and RFP confirmation of receipt.
  • Opportunity for service providers to play a key role in enabling bill pay for financial institutions.
  • Emphasized need for a consumer directory for the FedNow Service.
  • Additional insight on how the FedNow Service can offer functionality reflective of financial institutions’ priorities and expectations.

The FedNow team is closely reviewing these recommendations from stakeholders across the FedNow Community. We anticipate future engagements with the industry will be offered, to help refine bill pay functionality of the FedNow Service.

Need more information?

The Federal Reserve is committed to ongoing transparency, inclusivity and collaboration with the industry on payments improvement. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at SYSFedNowWorkGroup@chi.frb.org.

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