Rep. Hill leading coalition to expand hours of interbank settlement services

U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) is leading a bipartisan coalition of Congress members who are urging the Federal Reserve to modernize the nation’s existing payments infrastructure.

Specifically, the coalition would like to see operating days and hours of interbank settlement services expanded to support operations over weekends and holidays, and ultimately 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Along with Hill, the coalition includes U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), along with U.S. Reps. Young Kim (R-CA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Nikema Williams (D-GA).

“We were pleased to see the Federal Reserve Board announce last month that it is taking steps to expand the operating days and hours of the National Settlement Service (NSS) and Fedwire Funds Service (Fedwire) to 22x7x365 in 2027,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

However, they would like to see it expanded to 24 hours per day, from the 22 hour per day proposal. And they would like to see it sooner than 2027.

“As the Federal Reserve’s own staff memo to the Board of Governors states, expanding the operating hours would “improve the nation’s payment and settlement infrastructure … [and] support the safety and efficiency of the U.S. payments system.” Doing so would also bring other benefits such as “improving the credit risk and operational efficiency of … retail payment arrangements, spurring innovation in new or enhanced private-sector payment solutions, and supporting more efficient cross-border payment flows, among others,” they added.

They asked Powell to respond to a series of questions by July 31. The questions include:

• How did the Federal Reserve Board reach its decision to propose expanding the operating hours no sooner than 2027?
• What factors would the Federal Reserve consider as it potentially expands the operating hours sooner than 2027?
• How is the Federal Reserve thinking about an expansion of operating hours to the full 24x7x365 versus 22x7x365? What kind of feedback will the Federal Reserve consider regarding the constraints, preferences, and demand related to full 24×7 operating hours?

“We believe it is important for the Federal Reserve to prioritize its work and act swiftly to expand the operating days and hours of the NSS and Fedwire,” they concluded.

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