The U.S. retail payments system is in the midst of a transformation. The shift from paper to electronics, the emergence of new instruments and payments channels, the rise in nonbank participation, the change in risk profiles—all are elements of this new landscape. The Federal Reserve takes as one of its mandates fostering a payments system that is safe, efficient, and accessible. How does the Federal Reserve fulfill this mandate in this new environment? ; Since its beginning, the Federal Reserve has played a crucial role in the U.S. retail payments system. From time to time, that role has been reevaluated The current environment suggests the time may be right for another examination. Other central banks are facing similar issues. ; Weiner reexamines the Federal Reserve’s role in retail payments in light of the evolving payments system. The Federal Reserve will likely continue to play an important role in retail payments. However, given the evolution of the payments system, the role the Federal Reserve plays and the rationale for this role may be different than they have been in the past.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its journal Economic Review.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Diane Rosenberger).
Related research
Keywords:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: