Chairman's Column: Flipping the Switch - It's Time to Receive Instant Payments

For years, we’ve been waiting in the wings, anticipating the launch of an instant payments service by the Federal Reserve, so it feels surreal to say we’ve arrived. But here we are, with FedNow launching in July—as the Fed announced during the final general session at ICBA LIVE in March—and I can tell you, my bank is excited to move toward implementation.

With this instant payments offering, our bank jumped at the chance to get on board. Not only did we want to ensure we were stepping up our services for our customers, but we also hoped to be able to reap the benefits of being an early adopter. Use cases like earned wage access continue to crop up as competitive differentiators, and by implementing FedNow, we’ll be able to capitalize on them while supporting our customers.

So now it’s time to move on to implementation. We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on our plans to receive-only at launch, but we have our sights on sending instant payments in the future. We’ve also coordinated our staffing approach: It was a relief to realize that even though FedNow is 24/7 live access, we’re not required to manage decisioning after hours, so there’s no additional labor burden on our part.

I can’t quite believe it, but at this stage, we are ready to flip the switch and receive instant payments—thanks in large part to the education offered by ICBA Bancard. Specifically, the FedNow Launch Webinar Series (icba.org/instantpayments) made a world of difference, breaking implementation down into digestible parts, with key advice from the Federal Reserve peppered throughout the sessions. (Helpful hint: For us, part two, “FedNow Features, A Deep Dive,” was particularly valuable.) If you’ve not already participated in these webinars, work your way through the recordings. They are a wealth of information that can help demystify the FedNow implementation journey.

The time to act has literally arrived! If you’re not already engaged in FedNow planning, you need to get there. To avoid falling into a competitive disadvantage, I would encourage you to sign up, at a minimum, to receive only. It’s only a matter of time before your customers look to you for these services, so take the appropriate steps so that you can tell them you are well on your way.

And reach out to Team ICBA Bancard for any assistance in this journey!