PSCU, the nation’s leading Credit Union Service Organization, and Glenbrook Partners, a payments industry strategy, consulting and research firm, have collaborated on the second in a series of white papers addressing the future of payments and the particular implications for credit unions. This white paper, entitled Money in the Age of Now, deals with the new strategies and technologies involved with enabling nearly instantaneous money movement between accounts at financial institutions. The newly released white paper is available for download online. PSCU is hosting a webinar on Jan. 18 at 2:00 p.m. to share the research in greater detail.
“Financial services consumers, especially Millennials, want faster money movement options and real-time transaction posting,” said Chuck Fagan, President and CEO of PSCU. “As new systems come to market to allow rapidly accelerated clearing and settlement of payments, we need to make sure the credit union industry has the strategy, technology and partnerships in place to remain relevant and competitive in the financial services marketplace.”
Consumers are not the only force driving development and adoption of faster money movement technology. The U.S. Federal Reserve organized the Faster Payments Task Force to spur competition and investment in faster solutions for end users to make real-time payments from any bank account to any other bank account. The task force also developed performance criteria for any potential new systems coming from the private sector. Faster Payments Task Force Effectiveness Criteria outlines 32 criteria organized in six categories: ubiquity, efficiency, safety and security, speed, legal framework, and governance.
The white paper discusses the forces behind the demand for faster money movement and how the financial services industry is aligning behind emerging competitors to provide this new payment technology. Beyond comparisons between the blueprints and strategies for the systems being developed or already in market, the white paper provides valuable insights on the effect these new systems could have on the current payments model and future revenue potential for the credit union industry.
“The faster money marketplace is already competitive, so credit unions should plan for the market to evolve quickly once real-time payment systems are up and running,” said George Peabody, Partner at Glenbrook Partners, “The P2P services currently offered by core processors were intended to be used for splitting the dinner bill or paying back friends; soon they could be used to split the rent or pay a merchant.”
Click here to download the complete white paper. To register for the webinar, click here.