News & Insights
As consumer expectations evolve and digital-first experiences become the norm, credit unions must adapt to remain competitive.One of the most impactful innovations reshaping the lending space is the use of faster payments, particularly through the FedNow® Service, to enable instant loan funding.
The use of paper Treasury checks is set to end by September 30, 2025. As the government is phasing out check payments, the Federal Reserve’s instant payment rail has been ramping up. With government disbursements going all digital, volume on the FedNow rail is set to increase – and that means credit unions must prepare for what comes next.
What is the difference between the soon-to-launch FedNow℠ Service and other instant payments services? What is ISO 20022? How should my credit union prepare for the FedNow Service? Attendees generated more than 20 questions, including these, at Catalyst Corporate’s first no-cost Faster Payments Essentials webinar last week.
The payments industry is ever-changing. There is a growing need for faster, seamless payments as new technology and competitors emerge. Compared to current fintech solutions, a funds transfer on existing payment rails may take hours or up to a couple days to settle and post to a customer’s account. Until recent years, however, there had been no united payments industry effort to provide additional alternatives for instant transactions. All of that is now on the cusp of change.
In the U.S. payments industry, 2023 will be a significant year for “instantaneous” payments, and Catalyst Corporate will be actively involved in supporting credit unions’ needs through it all.
Human exploitation, lost/stolen credentials or scams that compel consumers to divulge or expose personal information keep payments fraud on the rise. Fraud via lost and/or stolen credentials alone increased nearly 80% over 2020, according to a 2022 Identity Fraud Study from Javelin Strategy & Research. With the addition of scam-related fraud, losses totaled $52 billion and affected 42 million U.S. adults.