The payments industry has lined up behind the Federal Reserve’s plan to open FedNow to cross-border payments, while large banks want it phased in. The Fed proposed on April 8, 2026, to amend subpart C of Regulation J so that FedNow participants can use intermediaries other than the Federal Reserve Banks. A tally of the 37 comments filed, made public on August 10, shows the payments sector overwhelmingly in favor. Stripe, Visa , and Wise are among the backers, along with the main US trade groups. Several banks support the idea but want a gradual start.
For US payment providers, the change would mean the domestic leg of an outbound payment could settle in seconds rather than waiting on bank business hours.
Today’s rule keeps FedNow domestic
FedNow, the instant payment system run by the Federal Reserve, has been live since July 2023. Under its current rule, both ends of a transfer must be customers of participating US institutions, and the Reserve Banks are the only intermediaries allowed. A payment to a beneficiary abroad therefore cannot use FedNow, not even for the part of its journey that happens inside the US.
The proposal lifts that ban. The sending or receiving US institution could act as correspondent for a foreign financial institution. The domestic leg would run on FedNow in real time, around the clock, while the international leg would stay outside the system and move through a traditional correspondent banking relationship. Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell notes that this would bring FedNow in line with the Fedwire Funds Service, which has permitted intermediaries for decades and already carries cross-border payments.
Payments companies want the rule finalized quickly
Jonah Crane, Stripe’s head of global regulatory and policy strategy, called the proposal “sound policy.” “The Board has a direct and legitimate interest in ensuring that its own payment systems keep pace,” he wrote. Visa executive Andrew Neeson wrote that the changes “will help expand cross-border payments activity across a wider set of use cases, and provide payment providers additional choice with how and where they can route payments.” Wise called the proposal “a meaningful step to making cross-border transactions more efficient.”
Stripe added a caveat: residency rules still limit how far the change can reach. FedNow’s operating rules require the end customer in an on-behalf-of payment to be a US resident or US-domiciled entity, and Stripe asked the Fed to modify that restriction as well.
| Respondent | Position | Main argument |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Supports, finalize without delay | Closes a consequential gap in US payment infrastructure. |
| Visa | Supports | Broadens the use cases and the routing choices open to providers. |
| Wise | Supports | Aligns FedNow with Fedwire, a meaningful step toward more efficient cross-border payments. |
| The Clearing House and Bank Policy Institute | Supports, with a pilot phase | Gradual rollout, with institutions opting in voluntarily. |
| BNY | Supports, with conditions | Clear guardrails and well-delineated responsibilities among intermediaries. |
| Nacha | No stated position | Wants surveys first on whether receiving institutions can manage the risk. |
Trade groups took the same side. The American Fintech Council, the Financial Technology Association, the Electronic Transactions Association, and the U.S. Faster Payments Council all backed the proposal, as did software vendor Finastra. The consensus ends at timing. The Clearing House and the Bank Policy Institute want a pilot phase, which would hold off a full rollout until receiving institutions show they can handle inbound payments from abroad. “During an initial pilot period, depository institutions should have the ability to opt-in to receiving and sending cross-border transactions over FedNow,” the two groups wrote.
Screening for sanctions in seconds is the sticking point
Respondents see compliance, not technology, as the main obstacle. A receiving institution has a few seconds to respond to an instant payment message. Sanctions screening and anti-money laundering checks take time, and more of it when the counterparty is foreign and an intermediary sits in the chain. That tension between immediate settlement and the duty to screen will set the pace of implementation.
End-to-end speed depends on foreign rails
The change would pay off only if other countries reciprocate. A transfer is fast end to end only if the system in the destination country accepts payments around the clock, and that is up to foreign central banks and regulators. At home, the rule would put FedNow in direct competition with existing correspondent channels for the domestic leg of outbound payments, a segment that has so far moved on business days.
The proposal does not create a public cross-border rail, impose any obligation on institutions, or change the residency rules for end customers. It only permits intermediaries, which makes FedNow technically eligible to carry the US leg of an international payment.
As of August 10, 2026, the Fed had announced no timeline or next step. A spokesperson said there were “no updates at this time on next steps or a timeline for potential implementation.” The comment period is closed, the positions are on record, and the decision rests with the Board of Governors.