Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said the central bank is working to improve the speed and security of the U.S. payments system.
"At the heart of the strategy is a vision to improve the end-to-end speed, efficiency, and safety of the U.S. payments system over the next decade," Pianalto said today in a speech in Chicago.
The central bank oversees the nation's payment system, which handles more than $3 trillion a day to pay for goods, services and financial instruments, according to the central bank. The Fed is currently in the process of seeking public comments on the weaknesses of the system, including its inability to process transactions in near-real-time.
"Our vision is that most payments will be executed in real time," she said at the Chicago Payments Symposium, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. "This would mean that any consumer or business would be able to make an immediate payment to anyone, electronically and conveniently."
She did not discuss the outlook for the economy or monetary policy in her remarks.
Pianalto, 59, the longest-serving regional Fed bank president, said in August that she will retire early next year. Fed presidents rotate voting on monetary policy, with the Cleveland Fed holding a voting seat next year.
