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NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Andrew Morris provided feedback Friday on a proposal to create a nonprofit association – the U.S. Faster Payments Council – that would coordinate the remaining implementation work identified by the Federal Reserve's payments task forces. NAFCU has served on the task forces since their inception in 2015.

NAFCU has been active in efforts to improve real-time payments and has encouraged the Fed, through meetings and letters, to play an operational role in a future, faster payments system.

Morris wrote that "NAFCU supports a collaborative, industry-led approach to addressing technical interoperability issues in a future, faster payments ecosystem," and appreciated components of the council's operating vision, which placed "emphasis on consensus-driven collaboration and a 'light touch' approach for resolving legal and technical issues."

Morris offered additional recommendations to strengthen the operating vision, including:

• clarifying the application of the council's light touch and principles-based approach;

• structuring the council's board to ensure financial institutions of all types have an equal voice;

• clarifying the decision-making process in order to achieve fairness and equity;

• reducing operating expenses and creating a non-dues paying advisory member category; and

• encouraging government participation.

The goal of this council is to facilitate the creation of a ubiquitous, faster payments system in 2020 in which Americans can conduct their payments safely and securely anywhere and at any time. The council will facilitate interoperability with an advocacy component that would reach out to regulators regarding specific challenges.

Morris' full letter is available here.