Welcome to the September 2026 Innovating Payments Executive Summary.
In this issue, instant payments and digital assets reign supreme. From the Fed seeking to grow FedNow® use with financial incentives, to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond issuing a report comparing RTP® and FedNow volumes, to a host of announcements about FIs standing up stablecoin plans, this month centers on industry players jockeying for competitive advantage.
In other news, Federal Reserve Financial Services delayed ISO 20022 requirements for Fedwire®, while the Clarity Act is running out of time.
Meanwhile, Nacha announced its standing up a digital assets group as part of its Payments Innovation Alliance, and a Fiserv analyst briefing resurrects rumors of a sale of its debit card network. Finally, Stripe is set to acquire an AI gateway startup, demonstrating intentions for creating an AI infrastructure to support its payments mechanisms and more.
We have entered a volatile state of play in the payments industry, and knowledge is power. NEACH’s Future of Payments Symposium (FPS)*, taking place November 2-3, in Newport, R.I., to prepare for today’s developments and tomorrow’s demands.
Read on to learn more.
Top Headlines
FedNow looks to grow with upcoming discount program
In a move to incentivize engagement, FedNow has announced generous discounts for FIs who sign up to send and receive instant payments. On the receive side, FIs could benefit from a minimum $5,000 discount; when it comes to sending instant payments, the Fed is offering a maximum discount of $20,000 for those eligible institutions. In addition, bundle discounts are being offered when the FI participates in the FedACH Receipt discount program.
“The FedNow statement credits give financial institutions a simple, fast way to tap into the full value of instant payments. By offsetting upfront costs, we’re helping organizations turn on send and receive capabilities sooner and start realizing benefits right away,” Nick Stanescu, FedNow’s chief executive, told Digital Transactions in a statement.
Discounts begin January 1, 2027. Read more.
Report discusses how RTP and FedNow volumes compare
A report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond explored how FedNow volume compares to that of RTP.
While pointing out FedNow’s slower adoption, the report concludes, “Despite entering a crowded market, FedNow has the long-term potential to become a core national infrastructure as the U.S. payments system modernizes, leveraging its design features and wide accessibility.” Read more.
Federal Reserve Financial Services
Fed pushes Fedwire release to November 2027
On the heels of SWIFT announcing its delay of its November 2026 Standards Release, Federal Reserve Financial Services revealed that it will postpone the launch of new Fedwire standards.
The Fed reports more details will be shared this fall, and encourages FIs to:
- Share this announcement with operational and technical staff, along with software vendors and/or processors (if applicable)
- Continue preparing for the removal of the unstructured postal address format
- Visit the Fedwire Funds Service ISO® 20022 Implementation Center to learn about the release rescheduling, review frequently asked questions and stay up to date on future plans
- Contact their team with any questions
Read more.
Digital Assets
U.S. state banking associations commit to nationwide blockchain network
Thirty-nine state banking associations have formed the BankChain Alliance to “advance interoperable blockchain infrastructure for the financial industry.” According to the press release, the Alliance is developing “an industry-owned, industry-designed and industry-governed network built on a common blockchain platform.” The goal is to launch the network in 2027.
“This is about banks of all sizes building their own future. Through an unprecedented collaboration representing thousands of banks, BankChain Alliance is developing a secure, regulated, industry-built and industry-owned network that allows institutions of all sizes to provide modern capabilities so they can continue serving customers safely and efficiently in rural, urban and regional communities across the country,” said Kathy Kraninger, Interim Chair, BankChain Alliance, and Florida Bankers Association President and CEO, said in a statement in the announcement. Read more.
Large banks announce plans for stablecoin
Some of the nation’s largest financial institutions joined together to back a company, to be established by the end of this year, “to support the issuance of a stablecoin solution.” The 21 FIs involved plan to go to market in the first half of 2027.
According to the Wells Fargo press release, “The product will be utilised in a variety of use cases covering wholesale, institutional and retail markets where client benefits can be achieved by utilising a trusted form of digital money, including cross-border payments and digital asset settlements.” Read more.
Time is ticking on the Clarity Act
The Senate will be moving the Clarity Act to a procedural vote on September 15, and the House of Representatives just announced that they are canceling the final two weeks of their fall legislative calendar, marking just two days between the possible approval of the Clarity Act and the House recess prior to the November mid-term elections.
According to PYMNTS, “The timing creates an unusual possibility where crypto could finally clear one of its biggest remaining political hurdles and still run out of time to turn that victory into law before the November midterms. That matters beyond Washington. Banks, exchanges, stablecoin issuers, asset managers and payments companies are already making investment decisions around a U.S. regulatory regime that, at one point, looked inevitable but whose final architecture now remains uncertain.” Read more.
Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance launches stablecoin and tokenized deposits project team
Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance announced its newest work effort in the form of its Next-Gen Currency Project Team. The team, which is established in partnership with the Digital Sovereignty Alliance, will focus on the global use of digital assets for money movement.
“Digital assets are still new, and the more educational resources available to the payments industry, the better,” said Molly Woodman, Senior Policy Advisor, Digital Sovereignty Alliance, and Project Team Co-Leader in the press release. “Creating those resources will be a key goal of this team as we work to bridge the divide between digital assets and more traditional payment methods.” Read more.
Industry News
Fiserv explores divestitures
In analyst meetings, Fiserv CEO Takis Georgakopoulos shared a glimpse into the company’s strategy for restructuring and supporting continuity in operations. That approach appears to be leaning into the possible selling off of its debit card network. Reports from analysts at financial firm Cantor indicate that the debit network remains on the table.
“While the company reiterated the importance of having a debit network and would look to retain the STAR network (in our opinion), [it sees] an opportunity to consolidate clients on one network, and would thus look to either wind down Accel (we believe), retaining the cost benefits, or sell it to bank customers who may see more value in owning their own debit network,” the Cantor note said of the meeting.
Analyst firm Baird also indicated that Fiserv plans to “prioritize partnerships,” instead of looking to acquisitions to fill gaps. Read more.
Stripe to acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+
According to news broken by Bloomberg, Stripe will acquire OpenRouter for $7 billion. OpenRouter was the first LLM marketplace and today boasts more than 10 million global users and an aggregation of more than 500 AI models.
By acquiring OpenRouter, Stripe sets itself up to make a play into AI infrastructure and expands the possibilities around its support of agentic commerce. Read more.
NEACH
New payment methods, whether instant payments and RTP or digital assets, have grown in importance as an FI strategic priority. Industry news reiterates the near-term possibilities for competitive impacts, and FIs feel an understandable urgency to both increase their knowledge of developments and execute next steps.
NEACH’s Future of Payments Symposium (FPS)*, taking place November 2-3, in Newport, R.I., recognizes the industry need to stay on top of the latest payments shifts. In sessions like, “Trust as Strategy: Managing Fraud, Scams, and Reputation in Faster Payments” and “Digital Money & Deposit Behavior: Stablecoins, Tokenized Value and What to Watch,” experts unpack the necessary information to help your bank refine its strategy and level up its competitive advantage.
* The 2026 event is sold out.