Innovating Payments Top 3 News Headlines

Welcome to Innovating Payments Top 3 News Headlines for the week of May 1. The Federal Reserve reported on May 2 that it officially began onboarding pilot participants onto the FedNow^(SM) Service, signaling that the initial testing phase of the FedNow Pilot Program is underway. The program also achieved a new delivery milestone and welcomed new participants. In other news, The Clearing House announced that tokenization for deposit and checking account information, which ensures a customer's banking account and routing numbers does not transmit along with payment, will soon be available for organizations utilizing the RTP® and EPN networks. Venmo also announced the launch of crypto on Venmo, allowing Venmo's more than 70 million customers to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly within the Venmo app.

Read on to learn more.

 1.     FedNow℠ Service Pilot Program Achieves Message Delivery Milestone, Welcomes New Participants (Businesswire)

The Federal Reserve today reported that it officially began onboarding pilot participants onto the FedNow Service, signaling that the initial testing phase of the FedNow Pilot Program is underway. A few organizations have now successfully connected and delivered test messages over a pilot version of the FedNow Service, marking a key milestone for the service, which remains on course to launch in 2023. Read more. 

2.    New Tokenization Capability Helps Increase Security of Bank Account Information for Customers (THE CLEARING HOUSE)

Tokenization for deposit and checking account information, which ensures a customer's banking account and routing numbers are never transmitted along with a payment, will soon be available for financial institutions that utilize the RTP^® and EPN networks, the real-time payments and Automated Clearing House (ACH) networks operated by The Clearing House. Secure Token Exchange (STE) for customer deposit and checking accounts is a new, optional capability currently available for the RTP network that issues tokens for a customer's bank account and routing numbers. Read more.

3.  Introducing Crypto on Venmo (PayPal Newsroom)

Venmo today announced the launch of crypto on Venmo, a new way for Venmo's more than 70 million customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly within the Venmo app. Beginning to roll out today, crypto on Venmo offers customers a way to start their crypto journey alongside the many ways they already use Venmo to spend and manage their money. With crypto on Venmo, customers can view cryptocurrency trends, buy or sell crypto, and access in-app guides and videos to help answer commonly asked questions and learn more about the world of crypto. (Read more.)

As the Fed continues its preparations for the launch of FedNow in 2023, what steps is your financial institution taking to prepare? Where is your financial institution on the spectrum of participating in the TCH's tokenization program? With interest in crypto continuing to grow, how is your financial institution staying on top of developments in this area?

Check back soon for our next issue, which will again highlight the industry's most pressing and need-to-know developments. Until then, visit us online at Innovating Payments.

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