Welcome to the Nov. 2023 Innovating Payments Executive Summary. In this month's issue, the Federal Reserve announced a proposal to slash interchange fees. In other news, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it has approved an amendment to the Safeguards Rule requiring non-banking institutions to report certain data breaches and other security events to the agency. Nacha announced its Q3 volume, with Same Day ACH and business-to-business payments leading to robust growth.
Also, in this issue, The Clearing House announced that payments industry expert Margaret Weichert joined its ranks as Chief Product Officer. And a new 2023 AFP® Real-Time Payments Survey, conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals, revealed that corporates plan to drastically increase their use of real-time payments in the next five years.
Read on to learn more.
Top Headlines
Federal Reserve
U.S. Fed proposes shrinking fees banks charge on debit card transactions
On Wednesday, Oct. 25, the Federal Reserve announced a proposal to slash the amount of “swipe fees” banks can charge merchants by nearly a third, which could result in merchants saving potentially billions of dollars in revenue, reported Reuters. The Fed proposed cutting the current cap from 21 cents per transaction to 14.4 cents per transaction, which would also result in lower revenue for financial providers.
The proposal, now open for public comment, would lower the maximum interchange fee that a large debit card issuer can receive for a debit card transaction, said the Fed. It would also establish a regular process for updating the maximum amount every other year. The comment period will close 90 days after the proposal posted in the Federal Register.
The following documents offer additional details:
Federal Trade Commission
FTC to Require Non-Banking Financial Institutions to Report Data Breaches
The Federal Trade Commission on Oct. 27 stated it had approved an amendment to the Safeguards Rule requiring non-banking institutions to report certain data breaches and other security events to the agency, according to a news release.
It states:
The FTC’s Safeguards Rule requires non-banking financial institutions, such as mortgage brokers, motor vehicle dealers, and payday lenders, to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program to keep their customers’ information safe.
“Companies that are trusted with sensitive financial information need to be transparent if that information has been compromised,” Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the release. “The addition of this disclosure requirement to the Safeguards Rule should provide companies with additional incentive to safeguard consumers’ data.”
This requirement will become effective 180 days after the rule's publication in the Federal Register, according to the release.
Nacha
Same Day ACH Growth Helps Lead ACH Network to Solid Third Quarter Results
Ongoing adoption of Same Day ACH and the continued increase in business-to-business (B2B) payments led the ACH Network to robust results in the third quarter of 2023, according to a Nacha news release. There were 212 million Same Day ACH payments with a total value of $608 billion, increases of 20% and 27.1%, respectively, over the third quarter of 2022.
In 2023, the ACH Network has processed 597.6 million Same Day ACH payments valued at $1.78 trillion, increases of 16% and 42.24%, respectively, compared to the first three quarters of last year, reported Nacha.
"The ease and convenience of Same Day ACH has been embraced by the businesses and other organizations that use ACH," Jane Larimer, Nacha President and CEO, said in the release. “The one-million-dollar limit and the three settlement times each business day make Same Day ACH a great choice for faster payments.”
B2B volume also shows growth, with 1.7 billion payments in the third quarter, up from 9.6% last year. Other major transaction types experiencing growth include claim payments to healthcare providers, up 5.8%, and Direct Deposit, up 2%.
Total ACH Network third quarter volume was 7.8 billion payments, up 3% from last year. and 4.65 per processing day. The value of those payments was $19.7 trillion.
The Clearing House
Payments Industry Expert Margaret Weichert Joins The Clearing House as Chief Product Officer
The Clearing House (TCH) announced on Oct. 30 that Margaret Weichert has joined the company as Chief Product Officer, where she will lead product development for the company's payments networks, according to a company news release. Weichert will guide product development for CHIPS®, ACH (EPN), check clearing, and the ongoing growth of the RTP® network.
“The Clearing House is the top private-sector payments network operator in the United States that leverages its unique capabilities to support bank-led innovation,” Weichert said in the release. “I’m happy to bring my experience working with various industry constituents to continue to provide innovative products across all of TCH’s payments networks and to help accelerate the impressive growth of the RTP network.”
"We are excited to have Margaret join The Clearing House," David Watson, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Clearing House, said in the release. "Margaret's deep experience with financial institutions, FinTechs, and technology providers will be an asset that helps the company to continue to be a leader in payments innovation."
Weichert, a payments leader with more than 20 years of experience, joins TCH from Accenture, where she was the North American Payments Practice Lead and worked with clients in banking, government, retail, and travel, as well as FinTechs and technology providers.
Real-Time Payments
According to the 2023 AFP® Real-Time Payments Survey conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals, corporates plan to drastically increase their use of real-time payments in the next five years, citing such benefits as lower transaction costs, improved transparency in the payment process, increased efficiency, and better cash flow.
According to a news release from The Clearing House, which sponsored the survey, key findings include:
- 99% of corporates with annual revenues of $1 billion to $9.9 billion expect to send real-time payments in the next five years;
- 77% of corporates expect they will receive B2B real-time payments in the next five years; 76% expect to send real-time payments within the same time frame;
- 80% cite payment transparency as a critical feature of real-time payments;
- 50% of respondents indicate that the lower cost of transactions is a benefit of using real-time payments.
You can find the entire 2023 AFP® Real-time Payments Survey, which includes more data on current and planned real-time payment usage by company size, industry, transaction type, and benefits for senders and receivers, on the AFP website.
NEACH
Join us for Wrestling Payments, a podcast for professionals working at financial institutions and FinTechs responsible for managing ACH and payment operations. NEACH staff guides conversations in each episode to help professionals overcome the challenges of modernizing payment operations. The stories uncovered through guest interviews and solo episodes will highlight industry trends and identify how organizations can strengthen operations now and in the future.
To learn more, visit neach.org/podcasts.
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AUTHOR: Joe Casali, AAP, NCP
Executive Vice President
As the EVP of Payments Innovation for NEACH, Joe focuses on exploring innovative solutions and technologies that will help position members for success, both now and in the future. Connect with Joe to read more of his blogs, articles, and posts.