Blockchain operator Tassat announced on March 14 that it will provide access to the FedNow payment system of the United States Federal Reserve. FedNow, which will be launched as a pilot project later this year, will provide real-time, round-the-clock payment services.
Tassat will be a business-to-business onramp for FedNow through an application programming interface (API), CEO Kevin Greene told Cointelegraph. The company’s interbank and intrabank services will provide FedNow access.
The FedNow pilot is expected to begin in June or July with some banks. The system will provide real-time gross settlement by channeling commercial bank funds from senders through Fed credit accounts to recipients. It is often seen as a non-blockchain alternative to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins.
FedNow will initially only be available for domestic transfers, which suits Greene. “We have a lot of work to do in America,” he said. He called the US financial infrastructure “antiquated.”
Fed now… pic.twitter.com/OGRW3kUUBh
— MetaMan X ™️ (@MetaMan_X) March 8, 2023
Tassat has a pipeline of six banks, including the recently closed Signature Bank. Greene said of the recent bank closures:
“Recent events have shed light on the existential crisis facing small, medium-sized and regional banks, especially those that have been overwhelmed by mega-banks.”
Blockchain adoption is advancing rapidly in the banking system, according to Greene. “Sixteen months ago, most bank CEOs didn’t know about blockchain,” he said, “and today that’s the feeling […] they must have some sort of blockchain strategy. Greene added that Tassat has doubled its headcount to 90 in the past 12 months.
Related: FedNow – US Federal Reserve’s Payment Tool Threatens Banks, Not Crypto
Greene started as an investor and board member in the company when it was founded in 2017, then moved to the position of CEO and chairman.