No blockchains on FedNow “early adopters” list, but some may integrate later

FedNow, the upcoming instant payment system from the Federal Reserve Free Its certified “early adopter” list on June 29. Organizations on the list have been certified as ready to join the platform when it launches in late July. None of the blockchain networks are on the list, while at least two have previously announced they would join the instant payment system.

The FedNow service said some organizations not on the list may be integrated later, and Metal Blockchain said it also intends to join the platform once it secures an “appropriate bank sponsor.”

FedNow is an instant payment service being developed by the United States Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve claims the service will allow instant transfers between banks in the US, similar to the United Kingdom’s Faster Payments and Europe’s Single Euro Payments Area system.

Currently, bank transfers within the US can only be made via ACH or wire transfer, which are not settled immediately. FedNow is scheduled to launch in July.

At least two blockchain networks have announced that they will “connect” to FedNow upon launch. One is the Metals blockchain by Metallicus. The Metallicus team said in May that its network would allow instant conversion of cash into stable coins through a connection with FedNow. At the time, FedNow’s official website also listed Metallicus in its “Service Provider Showcase”, providing further evidence that an integration was on the way.

The list was removed within days of the announcement. On May 15, Twitter user JeffXRP commented On the strangeness of its sudden removal.

The list of “service providers” published on June 29 includes ACI Worldwide, ECS Fin, FPS Gold, Open Payment Network, and 11 other payment providers, but neither Metallicus nor Metal Blockchain.

In a conversation with Cointelegraph, Marshall Heiner, co-founder and CEO of Metallicus, claimed that the company still intends to integrate the Metals blockchain with FedNow once it secures proper bank sponsorship, adding:

“Metallicus is currently in communication with the Federal Reserve and FedNow program administrators while we seek a suitable bank sponsor and focus on building out our bank chain technology.”

Another blockchain network that has announced an integration with FedNow is Tassat, the creator of the TassatPay service and digital interbank network. Tassat claims that its network is a business-to-business private blockchain for commercial banks. In March, it announced that it would be linking its digital B2B payments platform to the upcoming FedNow service.

Tasat was listed on the “Service Provider Showcase” of the FedNow website as of June 30.

However, the list of “early adopters” as of 30 June does not list Tasat as a certified service provider. Cointelegraph reached out to the Tasat team via email but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

In the Federal Reserve’s announcement, it was clarified that some organizations not included in the list may become service providers in the future:

“In addition to early adopters, the Federal Reserve continues to work with and engage with financial institutions and service providers that plan to join later in 2023 and beyond, with the objective of reaching all 10,000 U.S. financial institutions.” As an initial step in developing a strong network.”

FedNow has been criticized by some blockchain users for allegedly taking a step towards a central bank digital currency (CBDC). US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed that this would lead to “financial slavery”. In April, the Federal Reserve issued a statement refute this that FedNow is related to a CBDC.