The Fednow payment service will launch in July, according to the US Federal Reserve, and participants will be chosen for the Fednow trial programme in April. Ken Montgomery, executive director of Fednow, exhorts US financial firms to get ready to sign up for the new payment service being launched by the central bank. Yet Fednow’s timing is “suspect,” according to economist Richard Werner, who also speculates that “maybe it’s all about the offering” of a central bank digital currency ( CBDC ).
The Fed says in a recent blog post that there have been several interested individuals who wish to use the service. The US central bank is getting ready to launch the Fednow payment service.
The Fed explains that “a varied mix of financial institutions of all sizes, the major processors, and the United States Treasury” are among the organisations planning to use Fednow in July.
Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, who serves as the executive sponsor of Fednow, claims that the launch represents a “significant milestone” for “rapid payments.”
Regardless of size or location, the Fednow system is said to be able to allow payments and settlements immediately, “round the clock, every day of the year.” Participants can handle their money more flexibly with rapid access to funds, according to Fednow. The Fedline network, which now serves close to 10,000 financial institutions and agents, will provide access to the Fednow system. According to the Federal Reserve’s statement, “The Fednow service will start with a strong set of fundamental clearing and settlement capabilities and value-added services.
Although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently presented laws outlawing central bank currencies in Florida, not everyone is thrilled about the central bank’s efforts to increase payments. The timing of Fednow, according to economist Richard Werner, is “suspect,” according to Michelle McCurry, main anchor and editor-in-chief of Kitco News. The Fednow offering may provide doors for entrance into CBDCs and surveillance capitalism.
Werner informed McCurry in his interview that the timing was suspicious. “Why is this being discussed now? Why do we suddenly need to overhaul the banking system when it has handled payments and money transfers so well?