U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Reps. Ayanna Presley (D-Mass.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) have reintroduced the Payments Modernization Act, legislation to make Americans’ funds deposited in their bank accounts immediately available for withdrawal.
Presently, Americans lose billions of dollars each year in overdraft fees, driving consumers to turn to more costly financial products because of the country’s inefficient payment system. By updating the “Expedited Funds Availability Act,” and requiring financial institutions to recognize funds in real time, this bill will be the implementation of FedNow—the Federal Reserve’s real time payments system—by further improving American consumers’ access to their money.
“In a time when you can move money with a simple click of a button, it makes no sense that it can still take days for deposited funds to show up in Americans’ bank accounts,” said Van Hollen. “This bill will require banks to make cash deposits available immediately, so folks have access to their money in real-time, not on the banks’ time.”
Pressley said workers “deserve to access their hard-earned money in real time, not wait days to have their paychecks cleared.
“As we continue working to lower costs for families and implement the Fed’s real-time payments system, Congress must pass our bill so everyone can feel this relief without delay,” she said.
James Wright Jr. is the D.C. political reporter for the Washington Informer Newspaper. He has worked for the Washington AFRO-American Newspaper as a reporter, city editor and freelance writer and The Washington…
More by James Wright Jr.
Source: Washington Informer
