Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
182 words·~1 min read·
/bill/118/s/2348/is/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Families in the United States spend billions of dollars in overdraft fees in part because they are waiting for checks to clear over a weekend or holiday. The inefficient payment system in the United States drives families, especially those living paycheck to paycheck, to use high-cost financial services to access funds more rapidly. A faster payment system would provide people of the United States immediate access to funds and relief for those who overdraw their accounts because their deposits are not available in real-time, helping families potentially save billions of dollars each year.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has created FedNow, an instant payment infrastructure that allows participants to send and receive funds in real time. Financial services providers have a duty to make payments available as soon as it is reasonably possible. The purposes of this Act are— to ensure that the United States has a safe, fast, efficient, equitable, and fair payment system; and to clarify that financial institutions shall prioritize efficient payments, except in cases in which fraudulent activity is suspected.