In early 2016 the task force solicited proposals for end-to-end faster payments solutions that could address the need for fast, safe, ubiquitous payments. Seeking to address potential conflicts of interest, as well as concerns that all task force participants might not be qualified to assess the proposals, the task force recommended establishing an external Qualified Independent Assessment Team (QIAT) to conduct objective proposal assessments. On behalf of the task force, the Federal Reserve selected McKinsey & Company to conduct a comprehensive assessment of each solution against the task force’s Effectiveness Criteria. Rather than ranking proposals or endorsing any particular solution(s), the assessment process was designed to make all solutions better by enabling each of the proposers to iteratively refine and improve their proposals.
Effectiveness Criteria
To support the development and submission of faster payments solution proposals, the task force created the Faster Payments Effectiveness Criteria as a guideline for effective faster payments solution design. The Effectiveness Criteria identify desired attributes of faster payments solutions across six categories: Ubiquity, Efficiency, Safety and Security, Speed, Legal, and Governance. Within these categories, the task force created a total of 36 criteria, including definitions and an effectiveness scale for achieving the desired outcome of each criterion.
Solution proposals were not judged against each other; rather, each proposal was assessed independently against each criterion. The Effectiveness Criteria are not intended as a set of minimum or maximum requirements for faster payments solutions. Instead, they serve as a guide to assess and differentiate the effectiveness of each solution proposal across many dimensions.
In addition to serving as a benchmark for the task force’s assessment of faster payments solution proposals, the Effectiveness Criteria are intended to provide guidance to the wider payments community and payment system developers on the desired attributes of future payment systems.
Learn more about the Effectiveness Criteria
Solution Proposals
The QIAT reviewed 22 proposals, and 19 proposers opted to continue the process of task force review, where task force participants provided solution-enriching feedback on their proposals and the QIAT assessments, as well as overall feedback on the process. After receiving comments from the full task force, 16 solution proposers decided to release their proposals to the general public. These proposals and assessments provided important input for this report’s development. The section below uses language from the proposers’ summaries to briefly describe these proposals, their scope, and how they approach delivering faster payments capabilities; these descriptions do not necessarily represent the views of the task force. The full description and details about each proposal can be accessed via the hyperlink embedded in the proposer’s name. Additionally, a proposal and assessment user’s guide has been developed to provide context around the different sections of the faster payments solution proposals and their associated assessment material.
The proposals on the whole represent a significant step forward on the path to making the U.S. payments system not only faster but better, by shifting the paradigms around payment speed, security and efficiency. Enhanced techniques of digital identification, secure messaging, and strong authentication offer promise for reducing the potential for security breaches and fraudulent activities. Designs that shorten the end-to-end payments path (e.g., fewer hops, fewer nodes), also create opportunity for greatly improving efficiency. By highlighting the possibilities for realizing fulfillment of the task force’s Effectiveness Criteria, the proposals also help to illustrate the task force’s vision for a better payments system for the United States.
*The Proposals provided below and any attached links are provided at the sole discretion of each proposer(s), and are the property of that proposer(s). One or more U.S. patents may cover aspects of these proposals. Neither the Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve Board, nor the Faster Payments Task Force make any representations regarding the ownership of any intellectual property contained in these proposals, and any person or entity seeking to use part or all of these proposals should secure the appropriate licenses. Neither the Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve Board, nor the Faster Payments Task Force make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any liability or responsibility for the contents of any proposal or links provided by any proposer.
Please note that any links provided are provided voluntarily at the discretion of each proposer, and not all proposers chose to provide a link. Content on any linked third party website is not verified for completeness or accuracy by the Federal Reserve Banks or the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Reserve Board have no obligation to monitor these third party links for updates or ongoing accuracy. Nothing regarding these proposals nor the inclusion or exclusion of any link, should be read to imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Federal Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve Board, or the Faster Payments Task Force.