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December 25, 2023 • Issue 23:12:02

2023 was a happening year

By Patti Murphy FedNow is a real game-changer, said Tede Forman, presi-
dent of payment solutions at Jack Henry & Associates.
hen The Green Sheet debuted 40 years ago, it "Over the next three to five years you're going to see a lot of
wasn't a magazine. It was a newsletter. Paul displacement of other types of payments," he said.
H. Green, the original owner and publisher,
W and the man for whom the publication is Research shows consumers and small businesses are ea-
named, positioned The Green Sheet as a source of education ger to have access to real-time payments. A Fed survey, for
and news for reps selling merchant services. At the time, example, found three-quarters of micro-businesses and 60
merchant services didn't involve much more than selling percent, or more, of larger merchants expect real-time pay-
credit card acceptance and leasing terminals. ments to help them better manage cash and working capi-
tal.
The industry has come a long way in those 40 years. Credit
card acceptance is just part of the merchant services busi- Some experts caution that instant payments will make dis-
ness, and terminal leases are rare. So what happened in putes and fraud prevention more challenging to manage.
2023? Here are some highlights. "Because these payments happen almost instantly, con-
sumers and merchants have less time to address disputes
Real-time payments go live or recognize fraudulent transactions," Dr. Jack T. Baldwin,
Payments got faster this year—a lot faster with the official chairman and CEO of BHMI, a software solutions provider,
launch of FedNow, a real-time payment system launched by wrote in "Managing disputes for real-time payments," pub-
the Federal Reserve in July. Although The Clearing House's lished in July 24, 2023, issue of this magazine.
real-time payments network (known as RTP) predates Fed-
Now by several years, the Fed's move into real-time pay-
ments was a pivotal development.
Contributed articles inside by:
That's because every federally insured financial institution Nick Cuuci................................................................................................30
can access FedNow to move payments instantly, 24/7/365.
In the past, the Fed's payments clearing and settlement Mark Van Horn .......................................................................................33
mechanism was limited to about 10 hours a day, and it was
shuttered for federal holidays and on weekends. Allen Kopelman .....................................................................................34

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