It’s been a long time coming, but the Federal Reserve Faster Payments Task Force is set to release the second part of its final report on achieving safe, ubiquitous faster payments in the United States. Part one of the report was released in January.

The report will be released “first thing in the morning” on Friday, July 21, followed by a live broadcast at 11:30 a.m. EST. During the broadcast, the Fed will discuss its 10 recommendations for making payments faster and more accessible. Additionally, there will a panel moderated by Fed Faster Payments Strategy Leader Sean Rodriguez on the benefits of instituting a faster payments system, and how the U.S. can make it happen.

The industry panel will include:

• Jan Estep, president and CEO of NACHA
• Steve Ledford, senior vice president, product and strategy of The Clearing House (TCH)
• Tom Rea, executive vice president of U.S. Bank
• Jim Reuter, president and CEO of FirstBank Colorado
• Christina Tetreault, staff attorney of Consumers Union
• Bradley Wilkes, president and CEO of WingCash LLC.

Although it’s more than a little ironic that the effort to speed up payments in the U.S. has moved at a very slow pace, it was necessary for the Fed to take its time and consider the views of the many different stakeholders who make up the system. "The approach of addressing this very complex issue by joining over 300 stakeholders with different perspectives is just fantastic," said Magnus Carlsson, AFP's manager of treasury and payments and a member of the Faster Payments Task Force. "Since the outcome of this report is a consolidation of so many different perspectives it should provide a very solid path forward for improving the payments system in the United States." 

Corporate treasury and finance professionals are encourage to watch the online event, which can be streamed here. No registration is required.