The FedNow Service will start operating in July, according to the Federal Reserve. It will begin the formal certification of participants for launch of the service in the first week of April.

FedNow is a new instant payment service developed by Federal Reserve Banks to enable financial institutions of every size to provide real-time 24x7x365 instant payment services.   

Early adopters will complete a customer testing and certification program, informed by feedback from the FedNow Pilot Program, to prepare for sending live transactions through the system.

Certification encompasses a comprehensive testing curriculum with defined expectations for operational readiness and network experience. The Federal Reserve and certified participants will conduct production validation activities to confirm readiness for the July launch in June. 

Many early adopters have declared their intent to begin using the service in July, including a diverse mix of financial institutions of all sizes, the largest processors, and the U.S. Treasury.

In addition to preparing early adopters for the July launch, the Federal Reserve continues to engage a range of financial institutions and service providers to complete the testing and certification program and implement the service throughout 2023 and beyond.

The FedNow Service will launch with a robust set of core clearing and settlement functionality and value-added features. More features and enhancements will be added in future releases to continue supporting safety, resiliency and innovation in the industry as the FedNow network expands in the coming years.