DECEMBER 2022
WISCONSIN BANKERS ASSOCIATION
FOUNDED 1892
Bank On Greater Milwaukee Empowers Families Statewide Over three years of connecting consumers to financial services and products By Hannah Flanders From youth to formerly incarcerated individuals reentering society, Bank On has helped in connecting thousands of underbanked individuals with financial services across the state. Since the launch in 2019, Bank On Greater Milwaukee — a local coalition of the national Bank On movement — has assisted more than a dozen financial
institutions in certifying specific accounts that comply with the standards set by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund).
What is Bank On? Across the country, Bank On has led financial institutions of all sizes to connect with individuals who lack a banking
Banks Advised to Gear Up Now for 2023 Launch of FedNow Instant Payments By Paul Gores
relationship. By identifying barriers to opening and sustaining healthy accounts, Bank On has not only connected more individuals than ever with banking services, but also helped promote safe and appropriate accounts in mainstream financial institutions.
Banks interested in joining next year’s rollout of the FedNow faster payments service should be preparing for it today, those familiar with the program say. FedNow, a Federal Reserve payments service similar to The Clearing House’s RTP network, is scheduled to be offered to banks in the U.S. as soon as May of 2023.
In the greater Milwaukee area, the Bank On initiative has specifically targeted its focus on local youth, first-time job seekers, and families with disabilities in gaining access to financial services. “Our goal as an organization is to assist financial institutions in establishing the initial relationship with unbanked individuals,”
According to the Fed, the FedNow Service will facilitate the nationwide reach of instant payment services by financial institutions, regardless of size or geographic location, and do it around the clock, every day of the year. Businesses and consumers will be able to send and receive instant payments at any time of day via banks and credit unions that use FedNow. Recipients will have full access to funds immediately, giving them greater flexibility to manage their money and make time-sensitive payments, the Fed says. “Wisconsin banks have been very innovative over the years, and this is another innovation that’s coming that Wisconsin banks should be looking at and should
states Constance Alberts, program director at Bank On Greater Milwaukee. “By laying the foundation for our community members to build wealth and reach their goals, these customers are able to move to the next level — taking out loans or mortgaging a new house. This first step (continued on p. 20)
be adopting when they are ready,” said Todd Koehn, vice president for faster payments solutions at Bankers’ Bank. “It potentially could be a game changer for their customers.” FedNow currently is conducting a pilot program with more than 100 banks, core processors, and other third-party organizations involved with payments technology. The U.S. has trailed Europe and some parts of the world in developing an instantpayment network. While the privately owned Real Time Payments network, or RTP, is available to American banks, the Fed felt like it needed to play a role to expand the fast-payments realm, experts said. (continued on p. 12)
UMS
Madison, WI 53718 4721 South Biltmore Lane Wisconsin Bankers Association
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