The Fed
announced Monday that it will develop a real-time payment service called "FedNow" to help move money around the economy more quickly. It's the kind of government service that companies and consumers have been requesting for years — one that already exists
in other countries. The service could also compete with solutions already
developed in the private sector by big banks and tech companies.
The Fed itself is not setting up a consumer bank, but it has always played a behind-the-scenes facilitating the movement of money between banks and helping to verify transactions. This new system would help cut down on the amount of time between when money is deposited into an account and when it is available for use. FedNow would operate all hours and days of the week, with an aim to launch in 2023 or 2024.