The Clearing House filed two comment letters supporting the Treasury Department’s proposed rule to modernize federal agency disbursements and reduce reliance on paper checks. The letters emphasize that expanding electronic payments will help reduce fraud, improve efficiency, and strengthen the security and resiliency of federal payments.

In one letter, The Clearing House Payments Company supported Treasury's proposal to include instant payment networks within the definition of "electronic funds transfer" but recommended that the definition be revised further to refer to “wire-transfer systems” rather than the Fedwire Funds Service specifically. The letter points out that The Clearing House operates the nation’s first and most-active instant payments system, the RTP® network, and suggests that Treasury and federal agencies may wish to consider making instant payments through the RTP network both as a matter of reach and resiliency. More generally, the letter encourages Treasury to maintain flexibility in its use of payment-system operators and to consider the robustness of the regulatory and supervisory framework that applies to the payment providers it uses. The Clearing House Payments Company also offered several targeted comments on the proposed text of the regulation to clarify its scope and implementation.

In a separate joint letter, The Clearing House Association, Bank Policy Institute, and Consumer Bankers Association applauded Treasury's efforts to phase out paper checks and encouraged greater use of private-sector payment networks, including instant payment solutions. The three trade associations also urged Treasury to strengthen its fraud prevention and identity-verification controls, explore tokenized payment capabilities, and modernize prepaid-card disbursement practices to enhance security and improve the consumer experience.

Together, the letters underscore the banking industry's support for Treasury's efforts to modernize federal payments and advance a faster, more secure, and more resilient payments ecosystem.

To read the full letter from The Clearing House Payments Company, click here.

To read the full letter from The Clearing House Association, Bank Policy Institute, and Consumer Bankers Association, click here.