America's journey towards faster payments inches along, as 500-odd members of two national task forces begin the process of reviewing 19 proposals from industry players.
The Federal Reserve invited firms to submit their proposals for faster payments systems by the end of April this year. Having weeded out some through an evaluation by McKinsey, 19 will now face further scrutiny, evaluated against 36 effectiveness criteria.
One task force is focused on faster payment capabilities, while the other is working security, with a final two-part report published next year.
The first section, slated for release in January, will describe the task force history and background, including the process undertaken to identify and assess faster payments pitches.
The second section, targeted for release in mid-year 2017, will include a discussion and assessment of the specific proposals and identify strategic issues deemed important to the successful development of faster payments.
Gordon Werkema, payments strategy director, Federal Reserve System, says: "The review that began yesterday is the next step in the ongoing process to improve the speed and safety of payments in the United States."
"The ultimate goal of the Faster Payments Task Force is to help payment system stakeholders implement faster payment capabilities that are safe and ubiquitous."