FedNow Is Live And The Framework Is In Place For CBDCs
FedNow Is Live And The Framework Is In Place For CBDCs | ZeroHedge
FedNow is live at 35 banks.
Axios reports that 35 banks across the country are participating in the launch.
By the numbers: So far, 35 banks have signed up as early adopters of FedNow, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, but notably
not including Citigroup or Bank of America. That number is rather lower than the Fed
led us to believe as recently as recently as June.
The U.S. Treasury is also signed up as an early adopter of FedNow.
Some 353 banks and credit unions have signed up for RTP.
In order to use either service, both the sending and the receiving bank need to be signed up for the system.
We are now officially on that slippery slope I’ve been talking about. I wrote about exactly this happening in my dystopian fiction,
Good Citizens, and discussed how this could evolve to control almost every aspect of our lives.
Why I’m concerned now that FedNow is live
A while back, I
wrote an article discussing a payment gateway designed by the Federal Reserve called FedNow. This is a way to make instant transfers between accounts, sort of like PayPal or Venmo, but without the users having to move the money from various wallets.
While it sounds convenient, the concern is that this puts the infrastructure to quickly roll out CBDCs into place. Previously, I wrote about this.
On March 15th, in the midst of
the banking collapses, the Federal Reserve
issued a press release detailing a new instant payment system that will be launched in July. That system is called FedNow. Here’s what they said about it.
The first week of April, the Federal Reserve will begin the formal certification of participants for launch of the service. Early adopters will complete a customer testing and certification program, informed by feedback from the FedNow Pilot Program, to prepare for sending live transactions through the system.
Certification encompasses a comprehensive testing curriculum with defined expectations for operational readiness and network experience. In June, the Federal Reserve and certified participants will conduct production validation activities to confirm readiness for the July launch.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the forthcoming FedNow launch, which will enable every participating financial institution, the smallest to the largest and from all corners of the country, to offer a modern instant payment solution,” said Ken Montgomery, first vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and FedNow program executive. “With the launch drawing near, we urge financial institutions and their industry partners to move full steam ahead with preparations to join the FedNow Service.”
Many early adopters have declared their intent to begin using the service in July, including a diverse mix of financial institutions of all sizes, the largest processors, and the U.S. Treasury.
This has all the hallmarks of a government strategy. First, they offer it as a “convenience” or a “safety measure.” Lots of people will jump on board in order to take advantage of this.
Of course, we’ve heard this song before.
Next, it will be pushed harder, and those who don’t adopt it will be mocked, thought of as backward, and treated with suspicion. After that, it’ll be darn near impossible to do anything without it. Sound familiar?