Now that the Federal Reserve has decided to offer a real-time payments system, the wait for them to actually launch it begins.
The Fed itself has said it will be years before the system is ready. I am hopeful—as are other interested parties, I’m sure—to get some answers to pressing questions around timing, access and especially interoperability.
What shape the Fed system takes, and what banks do between now and 2023 or possibly even 2024, is vital. The ability to simultaneously move funds and vast amounts of data in a secure and regulated environment 24/7/365 will change consumer and business expectations forever.