Cross-Border Payments Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Engage FPC member organizations currently working on cross-border payments. Gather information/input on various models and the variety of use cases where there is a need or desire by consumers and businesses for real time payments across borders. Review and coordinate with other FPC Work Groups to determine what is needed to align the currently disparate local faster payment systems such that the long-term goal of cross-border interoperability may be achieved.

Objectives & Goals

Identify what the industry needs to do in the cross-border space to create the environment necessary for faster cross-border payments.

• Provide industry awareness on emerging faster payments cross-border initiatives and their potential impact on existing payment channels, correspondent relationships, and clearing and settlement finality.
• Identify and prioritize use cases, user experience, and corridors to study and understand, assess different types of cross-border payments, and needs by consumers and businesses for faster cross-border payments.
• The scope of our examination and work products will cover E2E process flows (data and funds), settlement models, and technical infrastructure, (laws/regs out of scope).
• Review U.S. and global models that could potentially be put in place for real-time cross-border payments.
• Identify strengths and gaps of current models or emerging options.
• Identify challenges/issues in both inbound and outbound payments.
• Identify lessons learned and barriers to resolve these challenges/issues.
• Identify other working groups and global governing bodies that can be leveraged for input and action.

Deliverables & Timeframes

The Group's work will be done in phases. Inceremental industry resources will be in the form of white papers, research reports, or opinion pieces on the following:

• A wide range of information outlining the current state of cross-border payments, including any existing regulations, challenges, and opportunities.
• Insights for the industry on the developments of new payment methods supporting cross-border faster payments including the benefits, risks, and other considerations for new payment methods.
• Descriptions of cross-border payments environment including the existing and emerging opportunities to enhance the current landscape with a view to the next 12 to 24 months (Q4 2023 - Q4 2025).
• Recommendations to the FPC community on how to continually monitor ongoing and new initiatives in the cross-border space.

Membership Criteria

Technical Expertise preferred in managing, implementing, developing, or using cross border transactions, including ACH and debit/credit. Ability to synthesize research into summary findings. Open to representatives from all segments, but ideal to have representatives from financial institutions, technology providers, and end users, at a minimum.

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Digital Assets in the Financial Industry Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Map out how digital assets relate to the financial industry, focusing specifically on payments made with digital funds – central bank digital currency (CBDC), regulated liabilities and stablecoin. Establish advantages of using digital assets in conjunction with faster payments and identify benefits to instantaneously transact and transfer digital funds within the U.S. Boundaries on the scope of effort are limited to the movement and storage of digital assets that use faster payments to purchase digital funds or to pay with digital funds, and it excludes investments. The Digital Assets Work Group will collaborate with Cross-Border and Fraud Work Groups in subject areas that overlap.

Objectives & Goals

This work group will develop a real-time recurring workflow for faster payments that can be used in any applicable use case.  We will identify current approaches, applicable uses cases, best practices, and implementation guidance documentation.  Publishing the results that can be used by the faster payments community.

Definition of Digital Assets

1. Identify the asset categories
2. Define how faster payments can facilitate the purchases made with digital assets and timing expectations
3. Define the potential benefits and risks to stakeholders

Digital Assets to Support Faster Payments

1. Define the stages in a life cycle approach to digital assets that support faster payments
2. Map the timing expectations for faster payments to the life cycle
3. Identify the major opportunities and challenges in supporting the faster payments that are gaining momentum and are unique to digital assets.

Deliverables

1. White paper summarizing research findings that focus on disrupters and maturity, and considerations for the financial industry as they scale the adoption of digital assets for faster payments. Presented in education sessions, opinions on the subject, and tracking developments in the industry.
2. Research will set the stage for the next phase of the work group to build the industry guidelines.

Membership Criteria

Background or strong interest/enthusiasm in digital assets in the financial industry, or experience with faster payments in a digital currency environment would be helpful. Prefer to have broad representation from industry segments including financial institutions, business end-users, payment network operators, payment processors, and consumer groups.

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Directory Models Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Engage stakeholders to assess friction points and establish best practices to support ubiquitous directory capabilities. Work with industry stakeholders to enable interoperability and leverage directories to promote the adoption of faster payments.

The Directory Models Work Group will focus on directories as they relate to faster payments consistent with the definitions accepted by the U.S. Faster Payments Council. Particularly, scope will be limited to schemes supporting push transactions between accounts with immediate (or at a minimum same day) funds availability per transaction.

Objectives & Goals

• Gain consensus of the full group participants on this Work Group Charter.  Work with FPC members to ensure the broader membership has the opportunity to participate.  Identify and work with directly affected industry participants to ensure engaged participation in the Work Group.
• Achieve diverse industry participation in the Work Group by ensuring participation of financial institutions, payment networks, faster payment network operators, users of faster payments, trade industry groups, regulators, and payments service providers.
• Create a deliverable that articulate the impact to faster payments stakeholders which leverage the capabilities of an interoperable directory

Deliverables & Timeframes

• Examine best practices related to optimizing directory models to reduce friction in the payment value chain and increase adoption of faster payments.
• Assess current state of directory models and build out gap analysis that reflects what’s missing/could make them more broadly used.
• Provide summary of directory implementations in other economies, and include lessons learned and best practices related to their respective experiences.
• Review emerging faster payments that affect directory models (e.g., FedNow), assess impact on current models/platforms, engage SMEs in what it would take to achieve’ stakeholder adoption.

Membership Criteria
Open to any US Faster Payments Council member. The Work Group will make every effort to include those individuals involved in directory-type of businesses today.

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Education and Awareness Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Develop an educational and awareness program to foster better understanding of faster payments and confidence among providers and users, ultimately driving adoption and transaction volumes toward the industry goal of ubiquity.

Objectives & Goals

The work group will determine the best method to develop a cross-solution education and awareness program that aligns with the FPC's higher level strategies and priorities. 

This effort will include surveying existing educational materials according to audience (consumer and business end-users, financial institutions, other service providers, etc.) to identify gaps and opportunities for faster payments information; determining opportunities for collaboration/partnerships with existing organizations; establishing a continuous assessment to ensure education and awareness materials are produced in an efficient manner; reaching the intended audiences; and helping reduce market misperceptions/confusion and drive adoption of faster payments. 

Deliverables & Timeframes

• Evaluate the current educational materials and identify gaps where the existing materials fall short addressing specific needs or different audiences.
• Ensure educational materials are integrated into the FPC Knowledge Center and organized in a user-friendly manner.
• Create new educational content, develop a variety of content types, such as infographics, videos, webinars, and interactive tools.
• Establish a feedback loop for review and maintenance of educational materials. Collect feedback and make necessary improvements to the content. 
• Identify potential collaboration opportunities with existing stakeholders and FPC work groups to ensure alignment and avoid duplication of efforts.

Membership Criteria

Background or strong interest/enthusiasm in the area of educational materials, marketing strategies or PR for the payments industry desired. Must have broad representation from industry segments including financial institutions, business end-users, payment network operators, fintechs, and consumer groups.

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Financial Inclusion Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Provide a blueprint for leveraging faster payments to accelerate access to the financial system for unbanked and underserved Americans. Scope includes unbanked and underserved consumers as well as small businesses in the United States, with a focus on domestic payments.

Objectives & Goals

• Examine current state of issues, concerns (e.g., costs, trust, security, anonymity), and needs of unbanked and underserved consumers and small businesses.
• Identify opportunities and benefits for FPC members, and the industry as a whole, to serve this segment of the economy directly or indirectly through partners.
  • Identify the various stakeholder groups (e.g., FIs, payment technology providers, payment network operators, business end-users, and other players already serving this sector) that can be beneficiaries of the deliverables.
• Inform relevant stakeholders regarding how faster payments adoption is part of a holistic approach to advancing financial inclusion in the United States by mitigating some or all of the issues, concerns, and needs of unbanked and underserved consumers and small businesses.

Deliverables & Timeframe

Deliverables flowing out of July 2022 Financial Inclusion Report.

• Outreach to the Environmental Social Governance (ESG) community about how financial inclusion in faster payments and the action steps from our July 2022 report can support financial inclusion and thus contribute to ESG. 
  • Reach a broader audience using methods such as letters, blogs, articles, podcasts, and public speaking.
• Coordinate with CBWG to create a deliverable expanding on one of the themes from the published white paper which is family financial networks. Develop joint bulletin on bill pay and remittances to family members.
• Survey FPC membership and/or broader payments community about usage of action steps from the July 2022 report of other activities to support financial inclusion.
  • Prepare and deploy a survey and report results in infographic and/or short write up.

Membership Criteria

Those with direct or indirect experience in this are would be primary contributors. Those planning to work with underserved or are just interested to learn more about this segment of the economy would also be welcome. Financial Institutions, FinTechs, companies with demonstrated track record, that are passionate about financial equality or what to learn more about this segment of the economy and/or mission alignment in providing products and service or advocacy, coaching, and/or education for the unbanked.

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Operational Considerations for Instant and Immediate Payments Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Provide financial institutions with guideposts to effectively manage operational change that instant and immediate payments have on bank operations. The scope of the work group is receive-side of the internal bank operation that has instant and immediate payment processes in place.

Objectives & Goals

This work group will develop a real-time recurring workflow for faster payments that can be used in any applicable use case.  We will identify current approaches, applicable uses cases, best practices, and implementation guidance documentation.  Publishing the results that can be used by the faster payments community.

1. Establish critical touch points in the value chain that are key to operating efficiently, manage risk, have a good customer experience, and ensure compliance.
2. Educate financial institutions on “real-life” operations in a 24/7/365 environment and provide guidelines that will help sustain or accelerate the momentum of instant and immediate payments processes.
3. Explore case studies and relevant anchors applied by financial institutions that have helped sustain an effective operation once instant and immediate payments are embedded in the business model.
4. Explore existing resources or tools related to instant and immediate payments operations.
5. Provide guidelines that inform and provide insights for stakeholders to effectively manage bank operations for instant and immediate payments.

Deliverables

1. Produce a white paper for financial institutions that contains guidelines for immediate and instant payments and key considerations to inform and complement their business operations.
   • The white paper will contain a culmination of research and insights on best practices in the industry.
   • The guidelines will inform how the coexistence and integration to sustain a new immediate and instant payments infrastructure is effectively managed through examples of best practices.
   • The following considerations will be assessed as part of the guideline framework.
     • Operational models that include the payment flow, roles and responsibilities of the operator and receiving bank.
       • Explore best practices for liquidity management, reconciliation, dispute, and exception process, and 24/7 customer service needs.
     • Raise awareness of compliance and regulations that affect instant and immediate payments.
     • Assess risk management practices for fraud and security as it relates to sending or receiving the transaction and resolving exceptions.

Membership Criteria

Background or strong interest/enthusiasm in bank operations, developing educational materials, and experience with instant or immediate payments desired. Prefer to have broad representation from industry segments including financial institutions, payment network operators, payment processors, and consumer groups.

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QR Code Interface Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Describe how payment QR codes can facilitate adoption and usage of faster payments and provide considerations and recommended best practices for end users and financial institutions. Other potential methods for initiating payments are outside the scope of this work group.

Objectives & Goals

The work group will provide a brief review of payment QR codes and reference implementations. It will identify and describe faster payment use cases whose adoption may be improved by using QR Code as the initiator. The use case descriptions will be accompanied by recommendations for best practices and any related stakeholder considerations.

Deliverables

1.  Publish a report for all users of faster payments systems around the following subjects.

     a.  Introduction to QR codes for faster payments.

          i.  Brief review of payment QR codes.

          ii. Example implementations of payment QR codes.

     b.  Suggest with some justification which use cases may best assist in the adoption of faster payments in the U.S.

     c.  Describe the top use cases incorporating QR Code to facilitate faster payments.

         i.  Recommend best practices for use.

         ii. Provide stakeholder considerations, benefits, and impacts.
 

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Real-Time Recurring Work Group Signup Form

Mission & Scope

Promote the development and adoption of real-time recurring payment solutions to be used by business end-users and financial institutions.  Included in the scope of this mission is the development of use cases relating to: ecommerce recurring, utility payments, investment account funding, other forms of recurring billing.  Excluded in this scope are adhoc one-time payments or payments where the customer is expected to initiate or be directly involved with each transaction.

Objectives & Goals

This work group will develop a real-time recurring workflow for faster payments that can be used in any applicable use case.  We will identify current approaches, applicable uses cases, best practices, and implementation guidance documentation.  Publishing the results that can be used by the faster payments community.

Deliverables & Timeframe

Address Fraud and Risk concerns around real-time recurring payments for merchants as well as large and small financial institutions; hone-on on authentication and visit irrevocability concerns, leveraging analysis performed by other FPC work groups (e.g., Fraud, Directory Models, API) as applicable.

1) Generate areas of research through lens of recurring faster payments.

      a.  Current pain points, channel orientation.

      b.  Real-time recurring payment use case walk through, focusing on authentication requirements from the user perspective.

      c.  Market drivers for authentication and need for authentication in real-time recurring payments.

      d.  Consumer and merchant liability concerns.

      e.  Emerging scheme rules as they relate to addressing risk for real-time recurring payments.

2)  Output deliverable (2023) - Published opinion piece based on secondary research and FPC work group members experiences.

Membership Criteria

Membership should represent a variety of industries, requiring a background and understanding in billing/payment processes. Representation will be needed from merchant/end-users along with bank and financial institutions. Operators of faster payments systems including TCH and the Federal Reserve are also encouraged to participate. Members should have the ability to pull technical SMEs within their organization, when needed.

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Secure Instant & Immediate Payment APIs
Work Group Charter

Mission & Scope

Develop guidelines and best practices for the use of secure APIs for enrolling/onboarding users and for the initiation of instant and immediate payments, regardless of the network used.

Objectives & Goals

• Enhance the industry's understanding of APIs and how APIs are used in onboarding/enrollment and the initiation of payments in the United States and in other markets.
• Build understanding of various stakeholder perspectives and how secure instant and immediate payments APIs could meet the needs, and desires of relevant stakeholders.
• Identify best practices by examining existing implementations of enrollment/onboarding APIs and payment initiation APIs.
• Provide industry guidelines on the development and use of secure APIs for enrollment/onboarding and initiating instant and immediate payments.

Deliverables

1.   Inventory of APIs in support of instant payments as categorized by functionality and segmented by channel.
   a.    List of existing industry efforts regarding payments APIs to ensure the work group’s efforts are sufficiently differentiated in terms of both content and participants from other efforts.
   b.    Stakeholder Survey to validate stakeholder requirements by industry.
   c.    A list of business processes that can be built into the APIs to streamline processes and achieve greater efficiency and safety.
2.   Industry best practices for APIs technical security including taxonomy of technical interfaces, data protection and secure coding. 
   a.    Review of EU Open Banking Initiative and lessons learned for U.S. implementation.
3.  Publish guidelines on the use of secure APIs for onboarding/enrollment and initiating instant and immediate payments.

Membership Criteria

Participants should bring either the relevant perspectives regarding the needs and desires of their organization as well as the authority to speak on behalf of their organization. Additionally, the work group will require members with strong technical knowledge regarding the development of payments APIs and members with strong technical knowledge regarding the message specifications, data elements, etc. required to transact on all instant payments networks.

    

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