FX: The Federal Reserve has finally waited for this day, and Powell announced that the FedNow service is now available.

The Federal Reserve announced its newInstant payment system FedNow service is now availableThe goal is to modernize the U.S. payment system, allowing Americans to send and receive money in seconds at any time.

The Federal Reserve's introduction on Thursday of FedNow, a new instant payments system that can move money electronically in seconds, is an important step forward for a country where paper checks and cash are still popular and bank transfers can take days to complete, according to people familiar with the matter. It will allow the United States to catch up with countries like Britain, India, Brazil and the European Union, which have had similar services for years.

FedNow is the first new government-backed payment system in the US since the launch of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network in the 1970s. It has been in development since 2019 and enables instant transfers of up to $500,000. However, only a small percentage of the more than 4,000 banks in the US have signed up to FedNow. Industry experts expect initial use of FedNow to be slow, given limitations on the size of transfers and the limited nature of the Financial Institution Group network.

So far, 41 banks and 15 service providers are certified to use the service, but the Fed plans to add more banks and credit unions this year. The service was initially opposed by big banks, which saw it as a threatFXTInvestment expectations for FedNowDoes not pose a threat to credit card usageAlthough processing fees are very expensive for merchants and merchants pass the cost on to customers, shoppers in the United States are enthusiastic about rewards and familiar with existing anti-fraud systems

"The Federal Reserve established the FedNow service to help people make daily payments faster and more conveniently for years to come," Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell said in a statement Thursday. "Over time, as more banks choose to use this new tool, benefits for individuals and businesses will include enabling individuals to receive paychecks immediately or enabling companies to have immediate access to funds when they pay invoices."

The Federal Reserve said 35 banks and credit unions, as well as the US Treasury's Bureau of The Fiscal Service, were ready to support payments on FedNow. The Fed said,The system has nothing to do with central bank digital currencies。

More than a dozen service providers, including Jack Henry & Associates Inc., are also preparing to support the new service. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, among the largest U.S. banks to put the final practice run on the service in recent weeks, have prepared their systems to support FedNow. While other banks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, have been discussing FedNow's development with the Federal Reserve, they will not be the first to join the new system, according to people familiar with the work at Citigroup and Bank of America.

Retailers, including Walmart and Kroger Co. have expressed anticipation for the Federal Reserve's move to develop FedNow. They hope the system will one day allow them to accept bank payments directly from customers, rather than relying on credit cards, while also being better able to process refunds. Large merchants have long been angry about the fees charged to them by credit card networks like Visa Inc. and MasterCard. Still, analysts say it could be a long time before FedNow is used for such purposes, as it is unclear whether the Fed or other agencies will develop services like fraud detection, dispute resolution or other risk management products for the system.

Lisa Ellis, an analyst at MoffettNathanson LLC, said in an interview that it was a mechanism by which two entities could use the Fed's accounts to clear and settle payments in real time, and nothing more. "It's bare metal bars, waiting to be used by something, but they're not useful or functional in themselves."