While the current system is viewed as both reliable and universal, this process aims to spur the U.S. to keep pace with similar upgrades to domestic payments systems in such countries as Australia and the U.K.
.. It could encourage a shift away from some used today by banks, including one called the Automated Clearing House, or ACH. The ACH network handles more than $40 trillion of direct deposits, bill payments and other transfers each year, and traces its roots to the 1970s.
.. A side benefit of the task force’s work could be the development of systems better protected from cyberattacks, and with more granular data, enabling businesses and bill payers to embed invoices and other detailed information in electronic transfers.
Faster transfers could also help companies pay so-called “gig” workers instantly, and reduce the need for underbanked consumers, those without bank accounts or credit, to seek expensive payday loans while waiting for their paychecks to clear.