For immediate release: Mar. 13, 2017
The risks and rewards of faster payments were the focus of a recent conference cosponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the United Kingdom's Department for International Trade. "Lessons and Implications of Increasing Payments Speed" featured lively discussions on the challenges, opportunities, lessons and surprises of faster payments solutions and their effects on community financial institutions and the markets they serve. The event offered a chance for payments service providers, bankers and regulators to learn from the United Kingdom's experience increasing the speed of retail payments over the past decade. Experts also discussed ways of increasing payments speed in the United States.
"The U.K.'s experience implementing faster payments was challenging, but ultimately successful," said Benedict Wagner-Rundell, First Secretary (Economic) at the British Embassy in Washington, DC. "Customer demand for faster payments has increased rapidly and we have seen interest in expanded product lines. It is great to have the opportunity to share the UK experience and discuss some of the lessons that we learned."
Panels highlighted distinct challenges and rewards, including access structure for all sizes of financial institutions, market demands, product strategy, and legal and regulatory considerations.
"As the Federal Reserve works with the industry's Faster Payments Task Force, we appreciate the opportunity to learn from the experiences in the U.K.," said Marie Gooding, Atlanta Fed first vice president, chief operating officer, and interim president and chief executive officer. "While our banking systems and regulatory frameworks are different, we can be informed by hearing first-hand observations about the U.K.'s evolving payments landscape, with both expected and unintended effects."
Information about the conference can be found at frbatlanta.org/rprf/events.