Fed Says Real-time Payments Service To Launch in July

A mix of small and large financial institutions have declared intent to start using the FedNow service

article-image

Source: Shutterstock / MDart10, modified by Blockworks

share

The US central bank has announced its instant payments system is set to go live in less than four months, giving citizens a new prompt settlement and clearing service for their transactions. 

The Fed announced Wednesday that the service will kick off the formal certification process for participants in the first week of April, which will be followed by a trial program in order to get ready for sending live transactions through the system. Operations will begin in July.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the forthcoming FedNow launch, which will enable every participating financial institution, the smallest to the largest and from all corners of the country, to offer a modern instant payment solution,” Ken Montgomery, a FedNow program exec and chief operating officer at the Fed Reserve Bank of Boston, said in a statement

A varied mix of small and large financial institutions have shown intent to start using the FedNow service in July, according to the Fed. Montgomery said that access to the service is just the start point, with the major focus being on growing the network of participating institutions in order to broaden the availability of instant payments across the country.

Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital assets strategy at VanEck, said the timing of the service launch was suspicious, considering multiple US bank failures. “This may be the first leg into CBDC rails/reset,” he said.

Loading Tweet..

The FedNow service is seen as an alternative to central bank digital currencies, which are virtual currencies backed and issued by a central bank. US Fed governor Michelle Bowman last year said the service addresses the issues that some have raised about the need for a CBDC. 

The US Treasury is currently considering the consequences of issuing a CBDC, while lawmakers are still divided on the matter. But even as policy deliberations drag on, Treasury officials are designing the technology that would be needed for a CBDC in case it is determined that it should be used.

The service will launch with a solid set of clearing and settlement functionality, and other features will be added in future releases as the network expands.

It’s likely there is a role for cryptographically secured stablecoins even if the US eventually does issue a CBDC, which raises issues of privacy and centralization of power.

Tom Barkin, a FedNow Program executive sponsor, said the Fed is creating a “leading-edge payments system that is resilient, adaptive and accessible.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

The convergence of DePIN and energy generation aims to address modern grid challenges by incentivizing distributed generation.

article-image

US states are now competing for Bitcoin bragging rights

article-image

The deal is likely to fuel further M&A around derivatives trading and infrastructure, Architect Partners’ Michael Klena says

article-image

Stripe announced Stablecoin Financial Accounts, which will allow businesses to have “stablecoin-powered accounts”

article-image

The deal is made up of $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase’s Class A common stock

article-image

Blockworks Research uses numbers to help crypto advance to a higher stage of storytelling