PORTFOLIO ď…€FOCUS PAYMENTS FedNow is not a payments app. Here's why FedNow launches this month. That's why it's critical that community bankers understand the payments rail and how it differs from widely used payment apps. By Colleen Morrison pple Pay. Cash App. FedNow. PayPal. Venmo. Zelle. And more. These solutions have become household names, creating an alphabet soup of desired faster payments functionality for consumers and businesses alike. A In fact, the Federal Reserve reports that 83% of consumers use payment apps or digital wallets at least occasionally, and nearly two-thirds of businesses indicate they would factor access to faster payments into future decisions on whether to switch banks. To respond to this interest in faster payments, community banks are working them into product plans and offerings with increasing urgency. Research supports this observation: The 2023 Faster Payments Barometer from the U.S. Faster Payments Council found 88% of organizations plan to introduce FedNow by 2025, and 77% have implemented or are in the process with Zelle today. One of these is not like the others While each of these solutions provides a faster payments experience, one of them distinguishes itself by the nature of what it is: FedNow. It's the only one on the list at the start of this article that is a payments rail unto itself. " It is so infrequent that new infrastructure or payment rails are created to move money that it is only natural to think of interfaces that might feel similar, " says Kari 18 // ICBA Independent Banker // July 2023 Photo by Rafael Henrique/Adobe