Next year, when the Federal Reserve launches its much-anticipated FedNow℠ Service — which will enable businesses and consumers to transfer payments instantly — BillGO will have a seat at the table.
Per last week’s announcement, BillGO will be among the financial services organizations participating in the FedNow Service once it rolls out in 2023.
Billed as a “one-stop resource … connecting financial institutions (FIs) and businesses with service providers that can help them innovate,” the FedNow service promises to “facilitate nationwide reach of instant payment services by [FIs] – regardless of size or geographic location – around the clock, every day of the year.”
“ The FedNow Service will help make instantaneous payments and confirmations a reality for millions of Americans.”
For Jay Plueger, BillGO’s SVP of Corporate Development & Alliances, BillGO’s participation in the ambitious new program makes perfect sense.
“Working with FedNow will complement BillGO’s current bill pay model,” he said. “By leveraging the FedNow Service, it will empower us to continue delivering on our promise to provide consumers, billers and FIs with speed, choice and intelligence in the bill payment ecosystem.”
A modern payment infrastructure
Supercharging that payments ecosystem has been the goal behind FedNow's instant payment features since Day One.
In 2020, when announcing the initiative, Lael Brainard, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve, told the Fed’s Board of Governors, “the promise of the FedNow Service is that it will provide a modern payment infrastructure for the future, bringing the benefits of instant payments to communities across America and improving the way households, businesses and government agencies make payments for many years to come.”
For its part, BillGO will integrate the FedNow Service seamlessly into its payments platform.
“Not only will it expand our reach, but it will also be very easy for our clients to gain value from it since it will be integral to our platform,” said Plueger.
Currently, more than 70 organizations — including industry heavyweights such as Jack Henry, FIS, Quicken and Mastercard — have announced plans to participate in the FedNow Service.
“It will provide a modern payment infrastructure for the future … improving the way households, businesses and government agencies make payments for many years to come.”
Real-time payments
Russ Chacon, BillGO’s SVP of Product Strategy, believes an instant payments infrastructure like the FedNow Service is long overdue.
“Leaders across all industry verticals have introduced real-time capabilities for their customers,” said Chacon. “Transportation, healthcare, even car sales are delighting their customers by eliminating needless lag times between initiating a service and having that service fulfilled.”
The need to eliminate lag times is especially important for those millions of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck as well as merchants who can’t afford to wait days or even weeks for their payments to settle, he said.
“Consumers and business owners now expect to be able to take care of things in real-time,” said Chacon. “It’s no longer acceptable to force them to wait two days, or even five days or longer for a payment to clear. The FedNow Service will help make instantaneous payments and confirmations a reality for millions of Americans.”
Want to know more?
Learn more about how BillGO fits in the FedNow Service landscape.
Also, be sure to download our complimentary whitepaper, The State of Play for Women and Paying Bills, which explores the uphill battle many women in the U.S. face as they try to make ends meet.
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