Reed Luhtanen, Executive Director, FPC
As the year comes to a close, I am in awe of just how much the FPC accomplished. And it is due to the dedication and persistence of our FPC Members, a passionate community of nearly 200 strong this year.
Our efforts start at home, with events developed by and for the FPC. For instance, in 2022, we held two in-person Member Meetings, with nearly 30 hours of education and networking, supported by more than 80 member and guest speakers. Our Member Meetings provide an unparalleled opportunity for members to learn about the latest happenings and trends in faster payments and collaborate to find solutions to today’s challenges. We also convened five Town Hall events to bring forth timely topics that need immediate attention. Discussions ranged from crypto asset regulation to the ISO 20022 format changes, scaling the breadth and depth of new payments issues.
But our efforts only began there. Speaking at 18 industry events allowed us to engage the industry more deeply in faster payments dialogue. We also leveraged our Off the Rails podcast to share ideas, promote new concepts, and continue outreach and education.
And collaboration was a thematic recurrence. Case in point: We announced our joint effort to create a new Accredited Faster Payments Professional (AFPP) program with Nacha and The Center for Payments. The Program, which will formally roll out with the first exam in late 2024 or early 2025, will serve as a significant opportunity for payments professionals, providing for a new level of faster payments expertise that will benefit not only the individuals, but the ecosystem at large.
Perhaps most tangibly, our Work Groups authored numerous new white papers, infographics, reports, and web-based resources aimed at simplifying complicated industry topics. These include the Education and Awareness Work Group’s Use Case Repository, Cross Border Payments Work Group’s Bulletins (check out the latest issue here), and QR Codes Work Group’s QR Codes for Faster Payments white paper. Find out more about these and other tools by visiting the Faster Payments Knowledge Center.
And we only see things ramping up from here. Next year, we expect to continue influencing the direction of faster payments, starting with the introduction of two new Work Groups: Instant and Immediate Payments and Digital Assets in the Financial Industry.
This post reads like a laundry list of accomplishments, and you may be wondering how it relates to you. I have one thing to say to that: You are the key to our success. We need the continued support of industry professionals to help us further our efforts next year, and into the future. So, if you are not part of the FPC, now is a good time to consider joining our community.
Because together, we continue to make progress and accomplish great things, and I am eagerly looking forward to what next year has in store. In the meantime, from all of us at the FPC, I wish you a very happy holiday season. Cheers to a successful 2023!