To reinforce the Federal Reserve’s authority to create a real-time payments system and mandate that the Fed brings about its own process, two U.S. representatives and two U.S. senators have introduced the Payment Modernization Act of 2019. The legislation was brought forward by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), according to an announcement.
Americans lose billions every year in overdraft fees, which causes consumers to turn to financial products that are more expensive “because of our inefficient payments system,” per a press release from Pressley’s office. Pressley, who is a House Financial Services Committee member, “held Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell accountable for the Federal Reserve’s slow-walking implementation of a payments system.” The announcement said that “Pressley reaffirmed that a faster payments system is a public good, if not a right” during a line of questioning.