FedNowSM Reconcilement Working Group Update Article

The FedNow Reconcilement Working Group has officially concluded its efforts to support planning and design for FedNow Service reconcilement activity. The working group, comprised of financial institutions, bankers’ banks, corporate credit unions and service providers, met weekly throughout September to understand current reconcilement procedures and pain points, and explore potential enhancements and tools needed to support account reconcilement for the FedNow Service launch.

Through the working group, participants heard an overview of the recently announced FedNow Service features and functionality, including request for payment, liquidity management tools and the ability to view account balances over the weekend. Current Federal Reserve reconcilement offerings were also reviewed, including Account Management Information (AMI) and Statement of Account. The Financial Institution Reconcilement Data (FIRD) file was also evaluated as FedNow information will be incorporated into existing data fields to avoid file formatting changes, and FedNow activity reports were evaluated to provide supplemental information to assist with reconcilement functions. In addition, industry reporting preferences (e.g., solicited/unsolicited, automated/manual) were discussed.

Engagement with the working group revealed potential enhancements and solutions – at the time of initial release or in future releases – for consideration by the FedNow Team, including (but not limited to):

  • Availability of FedNow transaction information to a correspondent (not acting as a service provider) on an intraday basis for posting to respondent accounts in a timely manner.
  • Mapping of ISO formats to FIRD file data elements to assist a Service Provider with correlating files.
  • Ability for FedNow Service participants to define report parameters.
  • Option for a consolidated FIRD file to include weekend activity on Monday.
  • Additional report delivery mechanisms, such as SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or an application programming interface (API).

The FedNow Team is working to review enhancements and features for initial release, and will communicate them via the appropriate channels once finalized.

Industry collaboration is central to a successful launch of the FedNow Service and the Federal Reserve appreciates the valuable insights provided by experts in the FedNow Community. Progress updates for all working groups will continue being shared during development of the FedNow Service. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at SYSFedNowCommunity@chi.frb.org.

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