June 4, 2020 – The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), a membership organization devoted to advancing faster payments in the United States, today released a new Faster Payments Interoperability white paper developed by the FPC Network Committee. Interoperability in a faster payment system can help achieve seamless processing – both sending and receiving – of payment instructions across a variety of payment solutions.
Available in the FPC’s Faster Payments Knowledge Center, the white paper explores different models that can connect systems together to achieve payments interoperability such as point of origination, network to network, or with an intermediary, and how settlement could work in those models. Settlement is one of the defining characteristics of a payment system because settlement is how the transfer of value from one party to another occurs.
“Our Network Committee includes experts from U.S. network operators who are well positioned to deliver objective information to all industry stakeholders about faster payments interoperability,” said FPC Network Committee Chair Steve Ledford. “We’re pleased to present this paper as a first, important step as we build a common understanding of payments interoperability. I’d also like to thank each committee member for all the hard work and thought they have contributed to this collaborative effort.”
In addition to illustrating three models for payments interoperability, the paper provides an explanation of the different forms of settlement: deferred gross settlement, deferred bilateral net settlement, deferred multilateral net settlement, and real-time gross settlement (RTGS). The form of settlement is an important factor when considering options for interoperability between faster payment systems and can have a bearing on both banks participating in a service and their end user customers.
“This white paper sets a solid foundation for talking about real-world interoperability approaches within the FPC,” said FPC Executive Director Reed Luhtanen. “While we recognize the road to interoperability might not be easy, with the support of our members and the industry at large, we are up to the challenge. Across the ecosystem, FPC members are collectively dedicated to a future of faster payments and this paper is just one example of how our members are developing tools, guidance, and other resources to help the industry collaborate and engage in additional dialogue.”
The FPC prioritizes industry collaboration in tackling complex topics such as interoperability among faster payments solutions, identifying real-world solutions that can ease adoption of faster payments, managing security risks and fraud threats, addressing barriers to cross border payments, and more, as the organization paves the way toward a future of faster payments for all.
For more information on the FPC, its current work efforts or to join, visit FasterPaymentsCouncil.org.
Contact:
Elizabeth Grice
U.S. Faster Payments Council
720-737-7368
egrice@fasterpaymentscouncil.org
About the U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC)
The FPC is an industry-led membership organization whose mission is to facilitate a world class payment system where Americans can safely and securely pay anyone, anywhere, at any time and with near-immediate funds availability. By design, the FPC encourages a diverse range of perspectives and is open to all stakeholders in the U.S. payment system. Guided by principles of fairness, inclusiveness, flexibility and transparency, the FPC will use collaborative, problem-solving approaches to resolve the issues that are inhibiting broad faster payments adoption in this country. For more information, please visit FasterPaymentsCouncil.org.