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The Federal Reserve is optimistic about an industry-wide initiative to identify solutions for building a faster nationwide payment system due to progress made by its Faster Payments Task Force, of which NAFCU is a member.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said in a speech Tuesday that she is encouraged by the progress the task force has made. Recently, the task force released a draft document that outlines 35 criteria to be used in weighing various private-sector proposals for possible payment system upgrades. The draft document notes that a "credible plan to achieve initial implementation" should be achieved by 2019 and no later than 2021.

The draft document also details how fast a payment system should be – noting private-sector proposals would be considered effective if they allow transactions to be approved in 15 seconds or less and if funds are available to the recipient within 30 minutes.

NAFCU serves on both the Fed's Secure Payments Task Force and the Faster Payments Task Force. The task forces were formed as a part of the Fed's "Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System." The Secure Payments Task Force advises the Fed on payment security matters.

The association has maintained that the government should not dictate payment system changes but instead allow the industry to lead the way toward a faster system. It also continues to work with the Fed and trade groups to ensure the credit union perspective is addressed throughout this process.

NAFCU has also urged the Fed against a "one size fits all" approach in determining the payments system's future.

In July, CFPB weighed in on the faster payments issue with a set of guiding principles to ensure that payment networks "are secure, transparent, accessible and affordable to consumers."