Draft of US faster payments governance framework unveiled
In pursuit of a better payment system
A group of payments industry stakeholders released a draft of the faster payments governance framework for the US Faster Payments Council (FPC), and is calling on the industry participants to comment.
“The goal of the proposed organisation is to facilitate a ubiquitous, world-class payment system where Americans can safely and securely pay anyone, anywhere, at any time and with immediate funds availability,” it states.
The draft proposal is the result of eight-month work by the 27-member Governance Framework Formation Team (GFFT), a short-term work group established by the Faster Payments Task Force and facilitated by the Federal Reserve.
The recommendation to develop and establish the framework was the leading directive of the task force.
“The GFFT has worked hard to produce a draft governance framework that’s focused on broad participation and pragmatic, private-sector approaches to solving problems and removing barriers to ubiquity and adoption,” says Sean Rodriguez, Federal Reserve EVP and chair of GFFT.
The FPC will be open for all to join as the long-term successor to the GFFT, which will be disbanded by the end of 2018.
“The task force and GFFT assert that an appropriately open and inclusive organisation can help get the industry to ubiquity faster than through bilateral cooperation alone,” the organisers say.
The proposed FPC will:
- drive the emerging faster payments infrastructure toward interoperability where needed;
- foster a high-quality user experience for all;
- get the industry to ubiquity faster than otherwise possible.
Steve Ledford, SVP of The Clearing House adds: “Helping consumers and businesses understand faster payments is another essential step to ensure confidence and make faster payments safe and ubiquitous.
As one example of its functions, the FPC will coordinate education and awareness campaigns to inform consumers about how to use this new payment option, and how it is different.”
The FPC will be governed by the following guiding principles:
- openness and inclusiveness;
- flexibility and responsiveness;
- fairness and transparency.
The operating vision for the FPC – which it emphasises is “a work in progress” – is available for review and broad stakeholder feedback via an online survey now until 22 June 2018 at FedPaymentsImprovement.org.
Stakeholder feedback will help determine where there is broad agreement on the proposed organisation, inform areas that require further refinement, and gauge support for moving it forward.
Upon completion of the comment period, the survey responses will be summarised and published in a report.
