Federal Reserve launches FedNow instant payment service

[DaveF]

It looks to also be a big FU from the government to shitty banks. All banks suck, some are worse then others. And other merchants play games.
Send a payment from your checking account to pay a bill. You sent it at 3PM, the cutoff for being late was 6PM. Your bank says they sent it at 3PM the other people say they got it the next day, so here is your late fee. And then you either waste time and money trying to get it taken care of or just pay the late fee.

Here, the US government says you got it at 3:01 PM, go ahead and call them a liar and charge a late fee, see how that works for you.

-Dave

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[pooya87]

Do you seriously not understand the difference between centralized fiat (and its alternatives) and decentralized money that is bitcoin after 2 years of being in this forum? Or are you just joking around with this?

So I guess that means you get paid in bitcoin while most people get paid in fiat. They don't care about how much bitcoin their paycheck is worth they care about what it can buy them at the grocery store or somewhere else.

These are entirely different and irrelevant arguments involving bitcoin price which has nothing to do with the decentralized versus centralized subject. When you use centralized currency you are still at the mercy of the centralized authority, if they want to charge back the money you received they can do it easily, if they want to shut down your account they can do it in a blinking of an eye, if they want to put their hands in your pocket and take some of your money they can do that too, and a lot more. They can't do any of it when you use decentralized money.

Having bitcoin is nice but let's be honest, it's not convenient to use. You can't even use it on ebay and why would you want to?

You should not want to do that because ebay is centralized and it doesn't mix well with decentralized money. There is already alternatives  such as openbazar that are more decentralized and are suitable.

[Lucius]

So someone thinks that the word "instant" solves all problems with the financial system and makes Bitcoin absolutely unnecessary? In that case, in some other parts of the world, Bitcoin has long been a "lost cause".

Having bitcoin is nice but let's be honest, it's not convenient to use. You can't even use it on ebay and why would you want to? I would use a credit card that has some type of cash back reward, not something that is going to COST me to use...

Maybe that's your experience, but mine is completely the opposite because I've shopped and have the opportunity to buy and pay with BTC for a lot of things, even food and everything you can find in a supermarket. It's a completely different thing that people don't want to use BTC as a means of payment and always find some excuse for it, because if we're going to be honest, most of them just want to make a profit and it doesn't matter to them at all why Bitcoin was created.

The FED just has to come up with a new slogan and BTC will go down in history (at least as far as the US is concerned)

[Z390]

Damn, so Fednow is for banks and credit unions? I can't stop laughing right now because few projects came into crypto space using the name FedNow to attract their customers and it worked, now that FedNow is saying it's not in relation with any digital currency I am wondering what it happening to such projects right now.

This is why we need to be careful with many alt projects this days, most of them are build on the impossible hype, they will never work out and the only thing their adopters have is hope, they will keep hoping it work in the end.

There are many projects that plan to replace Amazon and other, many claim they are the Amazon of crypto and stuff but everything faded away, be wise and always care about taking your profits only.

[stompix]

Damn, so Fednow is for banks and credit unions? I can't stop laughing right now because few projects came into crypto space using the name FedNow to attract their customers and it worked, now that FedNow is saying it's not in relation with any digital currency I am wondering what it happening to such projects right now.

This is why we need to be careful with many alt projects this days, most of them are build on the impossible hype, they will never work out and the only thing their adopters have is hope, they will keep hoping it work in the end.

You've spent to much time in the shitcoins section!
It's not crypto, it's not an altcoin, it's not some random ICO, it's a payment system just like many others created by the Federal Reserve!
Leaving aside centralization and of course not having control over your money this is far more legit than any altcoin in history!

So someone thinks that the word "instant" solves all problems with the financial system and makes Bitcoin absolutely unnecessary? In that case, in some other parts of the world, Bitcoin has long been a "lost cause".

It might not sound like much to us but for Americans who still cling to checks, it's going to be big.
Of course, Bitcoin won't care but when it comes to the so-called stable coins, for them this might be a bit different since fiat will get just as fast as cryptos backed by fiat, so...

[Abiky]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/federal-reserve-launches-fednow-instant-payment-service-bypass-venmo-p-rcna95380

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country’s payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday.

Seems like this could be a good thing for people living in the USA. If I could send money using this thing internationally to anyone why would I need bitcoin?

Why would you need Bitcoin? Simple. To protect yourself from the negative effects of inflation. Not to mention, nobody can touch your Bitcoin (unlike Fiat currencies such as the US Dollar and the Euro). The "FedNow" system is just a "glorified" digital USD with centralization at its core. I don't think it uses Bitcoin's revolutionary blockchain tech. Even if it does, the fact that it's centralized is a deal breaker for me. This will give both the Federal Reserve and the government more power over people's transactions. It's surveillance at its fullest. With Bitcoin, you'll get a level of privacy and freedom not found anywhere else.

I know most people will "stick" with the USD because of convenience. But that doesn't mean BTC will die in the long run. Decentralization and censorship-resistance has kept the pioneer cryptocurrency afloat after all these years. I'm pretty sure it'll survive for generations no matter what schemes mainstream governments come up with. Who knows if BTC will live alongside the USD forever? Just my thoughts

[The Cryptovator]

I believe their digital payment system won't be able to rival Bitcoin in any case. The swiftness of their digital payment system is confined to the US alone, while Bitcoin transcends borders, making it a global option for transferring money. The universality of Bitcoin is a compelling reason for people to prefer it. Even if the US digital payment system were granted global access, it would still be a centralized fiat currency, unlike Bitcoin, which remains decentralized. Consequently, no other digital currency can match Bitcoin's unique attributes.

[larry_vw_1955]

These are entirely different and irrelevant arguments involving bitcoin price which has nothing to do with the decentralized versus centralized subject. When you use centralized currency you are still at the mercy of the centralized authority, if they want to charge back the money you received they can do it easily, if they want to shut down your account they can do it in a blinking of an eye, if they want to put their hands in your pocket and take some of your money they can do that too, and a lot more. They can't do any of it when you use decentralized money.

i understand how companies like western union can close someone's account without any explanation. but just because someone is using bitcoin doesn't mean they aren't accountable for reporting how every single satoshi is spent. that has to be reported to the IRS. and if the IRS wanted to sieze your bitcoin they could demand to know your private keys. and if you didn't turn them over they could put you in prison. just like if you had gold stored in a bank vault somewhere, you can't hide that from the IRS because that's called tax evasion. if you lie about your assets I mean.

You should not want to do that because ebay is centralized and it doesn't mix well with decentralized money. There is already alternatives  such as openbazar that are more decentralized and are suitable.

apparently openbazaar closed down in 2021 according to wikipedia. so i guess that means it was a failure no big surprise there. no one wants to buy stuff from people they don't even know unless there is a company backing it all up willing to make things right if things go wrong. that includes things like free shipping, giving refunds even if the seller won't, etc.

It might not sound like much to us but for Americans who still cling to checks, it's going to be big.

Who still uses checks though? Even in america I doubt anyone does that very much. Except sending out stimulus payments so they get a chance to get lost in the mail....that's how behind the times america was they had to send out peoples' emergency stimulus checks using the postal service rather than deposit electronically. sad but true for many people.

[tread93]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/federal-reserve-launches-fednow-instant-payment-service-bypass-venmo-p-rcna95380

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country’s payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday.

Seems like this could be a good thing for people living in the USA. If I could send money using this thing internationally to anyone why would I need bitcoin?

This is nothing new really under the sun, it's swift 2.0 other countries have had this technology for years. It's the same people who brought you fractional reserve banking, now it's just a bit faster. It's more or less a glorified telecom accounting messaging system for banking money. Its like a protocol they use, its the new global standard for banks. Why would you use bitcoin instead? Because it's entirely separate from these corrupt systems, bitcoin is a whole other animal over the hedge. It is the hedge.

[dothebeats]

Because other services like that is already existing in other countries, like UPI. Money transaction internationally will not be easy using this new service as other countries' banking system needs to be updated to these changes. Hence, people who are already using bitcoin will stick to it for convenience.

[retreat]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/federal-reserve-launches-fednow-instant-payment-service-bypass-venmo-p-rcna95380

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country’s payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday.

Seems like this could be a good thing for people living in the USA. If I could send money using this thing internationally to anyone why would I need bitcoin?

Maybe for some people, they will use FedNow for their transactions which are fast and easy from their account. But for me who is more confident with the decentralized and anonymous Bitcoin system, I prefer to use Bitcoin for my transactions. Because even though FedNow offers speed, they don't offer anonymity and privacy protection which is very important for me personally. It's up to people to use FedNow, but there are still many people who prefer to use Bitcoin for their transactions, and I am one of those people.

[stompix]

Who still uses checks though? Even in america I doubt anyone does that very much. Except sending out stimulus payments so they get a chance to get lost in the mail....that's how behind the times america was they had to send out peoples' emergency stimulus checks using the postal service rather than deposit electronically. sad but true for many people.

While writing checks may be less popular than it used to be, 55% of Americans still wrote a check in the past year. According to our survey, in the past year, 15% of Americans wrote a few checks a month, 12% wrote less than six checks, 23% wrote a check once a month and 5% wrote more than 12 checks.

Although complications can arise from businesses’ continued reliance on paper-based payments, 81% of firms still use paper checks to pay other businesses at least occasionally, according to The Treasurer’s Guide To AR Payment Optimization, a PYMNTS and CheckAlt collaboration.

https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2022/81-pct-firms-still-use-checks-to-pay-businesses-at-least-occasionally/

2023 and 2022 surveys, so checks are still in use!
Of course, is not like before but when a single company has over 100 locations in NY alone for cashing checks there still must be demand.

i understand how companies like western union can close someone's account without any explanation.

You can use WU without an account, just like most international money transfers.

[NotATether]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/federal-reserve-launches-fednow-instant-payment-service-bypass-venmo-p-rcna95380

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country’s payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday.

Seems like this could be a good thing for people living in the USA. If I could send money using this thing internationally to anyone why would I need bitcoin?

But Bitcoin already does this!

Bitcoin - decentralized consensus rules, your own private keys => your money, nobody can track you or forcibly seize your money if you stay non-custodial.

CDBCs - centralized policy, Fed's private keys => your money belongs to the government, your money is completely transparent to anyone (including hackers) who can also take away your money more easily if they gain privileged security authorization.

Satoshi invents decentralized crypto, and these blokes figure out how to make cryptocurrency like centralized, unstable fiat trash.

[slapper]

FedNow advances modernizing the American banking sector. This long-awaited move could alter company practices. This strategy has several advantages, including instant money. Comparing this to Bitcoin may be apples and oranges. They have various purposes and ideas. FedNow wants to simplify banking transactions, but Bitcoin provides privacy, security, and freedom from central authority. FedNow lets you send money worldwide, but Bitcoin may be better if you want to keep your finances private or avoid fiat currency instability

[larry_vw_1955]

This is nothing new really under the sun, it's swift 2.0 other countries have had this technology for years. It's the same people who brought you fractional reserve banking, now it's just a bit faster. It's more or less a glorified telecom accounting messaging system for banking money. Its like a protocol they use, its the new global standard for banks. Why would you use bitcoin instead? Because it's entirely separate from these corrupt systems, bitcoin is a whole other animal over the hedge. It is the hedge.

Some people have commented that FedNow will have $500,000 transaction limit. And act like that's a downside but yet ask those same people if they would be willing to send $500,000 to coinbase in one single ACH so they could buy bitcoin with it.  

But Bitcoin already does this!

Until bitcoin is integrated into my bank so that I can hold bitcoin with my bank and convert it back and forth into fiat through their website then bitcoin will be less convenient, more risky and more costly to use for "sending money". I like convenient things and I don't like sending money to third parties who have terrible customer support, if any at all. When it comes to MY money.

Bitcoin - decentralized consensus rules, your own private keys => your money, nobody can track you or forcibly seize your money if you stay non-custodial.

You keep forgetting about the IRS. Why would you want to buy a cup of coffee using bitcoin when you know that's going to have to be reported to them?

CDBCs - centralized policy, Fed's private keys => your money belongs to the government, your money is completely transparent to anyone (including hackers) who can also take away your money more easily if they gain privileged security authorization.

FedNow has nothing to do with a CDBC. It's just a way to transfer fiat electronically. They're not digital dollars, they're real dollars you could withdraw too.

[Abiky]

FedNow advances modernizing the American banking sector. This long-awaited move could alter company practices. This strategy has several advantages, including instant money. Comparing this to Bitcoin may be apples and oranges. They have various purposes and ideas. FedNow wants to simplify banking transactions, but Bitcoin provides privacy, security, and freedom from central authority. FedNow lets you send money worldwide, but Bitcoin may be better if you want to keep your finances private or avoid fiat currency instability

Exactly. Why would people stop using Bitcoin after the inception of FedNow? After all, they won't get the same level of privacy and freedom with a government-backed digital currency. The US government is not that stupid. This new system will make them bigger and stronger than ever. It will become the cornerstone of their new CBDC. I seriously doubt the government would be using Blockchain tech for this. Even if they did, it won't be a Blockchain because of its utterly-centralized design.

I once thought the US was going to use the XRP Ledger for its own digital USD, especially when XRP is a tried-and-tested network. A pity because this will leave XRP behind in the dust. Who knows what impact will FedNow have over the US Dollar's dominance as the world's reserve currency? Just my thoughts

[Don Pedro Dinero]

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country’s payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday.

It took them long enough. Europeans have been doing that for many, many years!

Enlighten me, please. What similar system have we been using?

[Pierre 2]

I am rather surprised to learn that USA didn't have this service. I suppose most European countries already developed similar system. In my country we have a service called "FAST" that does same job 7/24. Anyways its obvious federal currency+banking systems were lagging behind in technology of cryptocurrency so they are trying to capture audience back again. But I think its bit too late to think that coiner will return to fiat money.

[YUriy1991]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/federal-reserve-launches-fednow-instant-payment-service-bypass-venmo-p-rcna95380

The U.S. Federal Reserve has launched a long-awaited service which will aim to modernize the country’s payment system by eventually allowing everyday Americans to send and receive funds in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the central bank announced on Thursday.

Yes. FedNow have done it and in my opinion this is a new breakthrough and is seen as a positive step for domestic transactions in the US. In this case, they only provide centralized and convenient payment options within the country. But it should be noted together that FedNow is still under the control of the central bank, which is a centralized authority.

Seems like this could be a good thing for people living in the USA. If I could send money using this thing internationally to anyone why would I need bitcoin?

Seen from another point of view. Perhaps, some individuals still prefer the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies because it reduces the control of a central authority and traditional banking institutions. Well, here I argue, It may not meet the needs of those seeking cross-border transactions, increased financial privacy for the unbanked, which we all know Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have unique advantages, such as seamless transactions, lower cross-border transfer fees, and a level of anonymity.

So, for Bitcoin and other digital assets in terms of still having an advantage in terms of international transactions although FedNow also offers the advantage of being supported by a central authority and integrated with existing financial infrastructure.

[larry_vw_1955]

Seen from another point of view. Perhaps, some individuals still prefer the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies because it reduces the control of a central authority and traditional banking institutions.

Bitcoin might be decentralized but people are not decentralized unless they renounce their usa citizenship. They still have to pay taxes. Still are accountable for how they use bitcoin. Right now the government doesn't really demand to know the identities of everyone they transact with and for what purposes but they could. And people would have to comply with that. So it's just an illusion that bitcoin really gives anyone any control. The government is the one in control in any event. No matter if they use bitcoin or just traditional fiat. But enjoy the illusion, is what I say! 

Well, here I argue, It may not meet the needs of those seeking cross-border transactions, increased financial privacy for the unbanked, which we all know Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have unique advantages, such as seamless transactions, lower cross-border transfer fees, and a level of anonymity.

i don't think bitcoin helps the "unbanked" what does that term even mean? does it mean someone without a traditional checking account? because if you don't have one of those how do you even pay your bills? you don't. i guess you just live off the grid without power from the power company and raise chickens or something...