Fed Advances Long-Awaited Fedwire Fix
Finally moving to address a problem identified during the March 2023 bank failures (see Client Report REFORM222), the Federal Reserve proposed to make the Fedwire Funds Service and NSS operational every day of the year. As the Fed notes, the change would have considerable impact on the safety and efficiency of the payment system and would help “position” the payment system for the future. To some extent, that future is now given the growth of real-time payments, with this change also providing vital infrastructure as that initiative advances. The proposal also notes that use of these expanded operating days would be voluntary, with the Board deferring changes to the Fedwire Security Service at this time. FedFin will shortly provide clients with an in-depth analysis. Comments are due sixty days after publication in the Federal Register, with actual rewiring of Fedwire not taking place until at least 2027.