(12 August 2026 – United States) Wise, Visa, Stripe and major industry trade groups have thrown their support behind the Federal Reserve’s plan to expand the FedNow instant payments system for cross border payments interoperability.
The Fed is seeking to expand participation in its FedNow instant payments system with major payment groups and fintech associations strongly advocating for the Fed’s proposal to amend FedNow, urging the board to swiftly pass the changes to help speed-up cross border transactions and advance instant payments globally.
Currently FedNow transactions can only be executed domestically between two US banks or credit unions. The FedNow service amendment would enable US banks to utilise FedNow to transfer funds through an intermediary or non-US correspondent bank with an aim toward speeding cross border payments.
Advancing FedNow and expanding real time US payments more broadly will require overcoming several issues. Many institutions are hesitant to send via FedNow given the potentially irrevocable nature of sending money that confines them to “receive-only” mode.
“These changes will help expand cross-border payments activity across a wider set of use cases, and provide payment providers additional choice with how and where they can route payments reliably, efficiently and more cost effectively. Businesses and consumers are increasingly engaged in global commerce and demand seamless, interoperable payment experiences” stated Visa Senior Manager, Strategic RTP Expansion, Andrew Neeson.
“The proposal is a sound policy and we urge the board to finalise it promptly noting the challenges of Fedwire and same-day ACH transactions being unavailable on weekends. While FedNow operates 24x7x365, that ‘always-on’ capability isn’t available for cross-border transactions and that gap is among the factors driving demand toward alternative settlement mechanisms, including payment stablecoins. The Board has a direct and legitimate interest in ensuring that its own payment systems keep pace” commented Stripe Head of Global Regulatory and Policy Strategy, Jonah Crane.
“The proposal is a normal next step in the evolution of FedNow, a service that, since its launch in mid-2023, now has 1,800 banks and credit unions on board. There’s definitely enough financial institutions and credit unions that have a cross border need, which this FedNow proposal would help with. Prioritising connecting to countries with instant payment rails, such as UPI in India or Pix in Brazil, could enable truly instant cross border payments. We’re in a period in the payment space where changes happen very often. Having a future-proof solution is key to be ready for what’s coming next” said Finastra Director and Global Solutions Consultant, Mihail Duta to Shefali Kapadia reporting for Payments Dive.
BofA added real time cross border payments capability for corporate, commercial and financial clients to transfer funds via Swift or BofA’s CashPro digital payment app in June.
The Clearing House’s RTP network is also developing a real-time cross border payments offering in line with other major payment rails as part of the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross Border Payments.