How to make real-time payments real now

The failure of the U.S. government to be able to quickly provide citizens with emergency funds in response to the COVID-19 recession starkly reminds us that delays in America’s payment ­­­system have significant consequences. The most financially vulnerable bear the largest cost from this outdated system. How is that Americans can instantly stream any film ever made to their living room but still have to wait days, weeks, or months to receive a simple payment?

On Tuesday, September 22, The Center on Regulations and Markets at Brookings convened a panel of experts to discuss how to fix this problem quickly. We analyzed potential solutions that could deliver real-time payments immediately, what the consequences would be from waiting 3+ years for the Federal Reserve’s promised new payment system, and why much of the rest of the world solved these problems years ago but America hasn’t.

Viewers can submitted questions via email to [email protected] or via Twitter using #FixPayments