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Financial Services

One of the key roles of the Federal Reserve is to provide secure, resilient, best-in-class payment services that are the bedrock of our nation’s economy, benefiting businesses and individuals alike.

Federal Reserve Financial Services is an integrated organization within the Federal Reserve that is responsible for managing critical payment and securities services that foster the accessibility, integrity and efficiency of the U.S. economy.

Through its relationships with more than 9,000 financial institutions nationwide, the Federal Reserve provides access to a system that facilitates more than $5 trillion payments each day. Federal Reserve Financial Services, delivered via a secure FedLine® network, include the FedNow® Service, FedCash® Services, FedACH® Services, Check Services, Fedwire® Funds and Securities Services, the National Settlement Service and more. Find more information here.

The Federal Reserve also collaborates broadly with payments stakeholders on improvement initiatives, to advance the end-to-end speed, security and efficiency of domestic and cross-border payments. This collaboration led to and has informed development of the FedNow® Service, a new instant payments infrastructure launched in 2023 that joins the FRFS product offering.

FedNow® Instant Payments Service

FedNow: 24/7 instant payments (word treatment)

The FedNow® Service is a new instant payment infrastructure developed by the Federal Reserve for financial institutions. Participating banks and credit unions can use the service to send and receive money for their customers instantly 24 hours a day, any day of the year.

The FedNow Service, introduced in July of 2023, is a safe and efficient instant payments infrastructure that operates around the clock, 365 days a year. It enables financial institutions of all sizes to offer customers the ability to send and receive money immediately, providing receivers immediate access to funds.

Through the service, funds settle between participating financial institutions instantly, which means no buildup of interbank obligations or short term credit risk. The FedNow Service provides a springboard for financial institutions to offer innovative instant payment solutions and help them meet the growing demand for these services. The FedNow Service modernizes the U.S. payment infrastructure and provides a range of use cases and benefits to financial institutions, individuals and businesses.

As an interbank payment system, the FedNow Service operates alongside other longstanding Federal Reserve payment services, including Fedwire® and FedACH®. The Federal Reserve is working with the more than 9,000 banks and credit unions across the country to support the widespread availability of this service for their customers over time.

More information about the FedNow Service can be found here.

Additional Resources