Christine posted on Thursday about the risks of FedNow fraud. So you might wonder why, or even if, FedNow would be a positive for consumers. While FedNow obviously won’t be a positive for those who are scammed into using it to enrich fraudsters, it might be positive for consumers in a number of ways. For example, if employers use it to pay employees more quickly, it might lead to fewer overdraft charges and fewer consumers borrowing from payday lenders. And if consumers use it to pay retailers, it might reduce debit card use, which might in turn reduce the amount retailers raise their prices to cover the costs of payment processing. At the moment, only a small percentage of financial institutions accommodate FedNow, but if that increases over time, it will be interesting to see if FedNow proves to be a net benefit for consumers.
