Barely launched, FedNow, the payment system of the Federal Reserve (Fed), is debating

The Fed had announced the operationalization of its real-time payment system for July 2023. In the pilot phase so far, FedNow is now here. This despite the many criticisms of which it is the object.

The Federal Reserve’s FedNow project officially on track!

FedNow had been announced for several weeks. It is now officially in service. It was the American Federal Reserve (Fed), promoter of the project, which announced the new this Thursday, July 20.

According to a statement released by the institution, its instant payment system covers multiple banks and credit unions. At least 35 of them are already using it. And the Fed is calling on those who don’t use it to join the initiative.

All in all, the number of financial institutions joining FedNow should increase in the coming months. The Fed is committed to promoting the use of the instrument. It targets more than 9,000 banks and credit unions in the United States for this purpose.

This means that the Fed’s ambition for FedNow is great. The initiative, which has been in development since at least 2019, is allegedly useful for Americans. According to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, the service is designed so that “daily payments are faster and more convenient”.

According to the manager, FedNow would allow “for anyone to immediately receive a payslip, or for any business to instantly access funds when an invoice is paid”.

The FedNow project, a CBDC in disguise?

Jerome Powell seems to be the only one to believe in the relevance of this program. For many Americans, FedNow would be mistakenly a veiled form of CBDC. This would be the parade that the authorities have found to have their controversial CBCD project accepted. They rightly think so, one might say, since the initiative is not blockchain-based.

Speaking of controversy, the launch of FedNow is extremely buzzing on Twitter. Overall, the initiative is shunned by numbers of tweetos who simply do not want it. “Now only cryptocurrencies can save us, their money cannot”said the tweet @TrueGemHunter in particular.

In conclusion, the launch of FedNow by the Federal Reserve is a significant step in the evolution of payment systems. However, the mixed reception from the crypto community highlights the challenge of adopting these traditional systems in the era of decentralization and blockchain. FedNow’s future will depend on its ability to meet user expectations while navigating the complex landscape of new financial technologies.