News in Brief

The Future of Money and Payments

The US Department of the Treasury has issued a report, ‘The Future of Money and Payments’ ¹. The report was requested by the President in the context of fast-moving changes to the US system of money and payments.

While the existing system has real strengths, its legacy systems can be slow, hard to adapt and are difficult for some people and businesses to access. The report makes four recommendations: 

• Advance work on a possible US CBDC, in case one is determined to be in the national interest.

• Encourage use of instant payment systems to support a more competitive, efficient, and inclusive US payment landscape.

• Establish a federal framework for payments regulation to protect users and the financial system, while supporting responsible innovations in payments.

• Prioritize efforts to improve cross-border payments, both to enhance payment system efficiency and protect national security.