Dwolla Joins Fed Fast Taskforce

  • Retail Banking
  • 17.06.2015 01:00 am

In 2013, the Federal Reserve decided to step in and start a 40-year conversation in the making, asking the nation’s experts in payments, business, and banking their thoughts on what a faster payment system could look like.

Even consumer groups and tech companies like Google got in the mix. Pretty much everyone agreed: a faster payment system is needed.

Dwolla has had a unique role and voice in this movement. Since releasing FiSync in 2012 we’ve found ourselves center stage in the US faster payments discussion, at least as it relates to how it could be done.

This year we announced the next iteration of FiSync, which is alive and in commerce with BBVA Compass. In partnership, we’re making end-to-end, real-time payments available in the United States, for free. Faster payments is an issue near and dear to our hearts.

On June 15 and 16, Dwolla will join over 350 payment companies, academics, and stakeholders to lay the groundwork for a potentially new $40 trillion payments system for the world’s most powerful economy.

Called the Fed Fast Task Force, we will begin outlining and defining the criteria that any new system will be measured against. The initiative, which is set to close at the end of 2016, will be led by a Task Force-elected Steering Committee. Representing 8 segments of groups (ranging from large financial groups to end-users, businesses to regulators), the Steering Committee will be tasked with guiding, shaping, and informing the creation of a new payment system.

I’m extremely excited to be representing Dwolla as one of these elected individuals on the 18-person steering committee.

We’ve achieved significant milestones and technological achievements over the years based on a few simple ideas:

That using the US payment system should be as simple and cost-effective as sending email
That greater competition in payments means greater innovation for end-users
That real-time isn’t just about speed, but the certainty, transparency, and opportunities it provides
That we shouldn’t wait for someone else to do it. We should get involved and make the change a reality.

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