The U.
S. Faster Payments Council (FPC) and the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. (X9) have announced a strategic alliance aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of standards for faster payments across the United States. This collaboration unites the FPC’s focus on industry adoption with X9’s expertise in financial services standards.
The partnership seeks to establish secure, interoperable, and widely adopted faster payment standards that will benefit all stakeholders, particularly business end-users requiring more efficient and reliable payment solutions. The alliance is intended to improve compatibility and security while fostering a consistent experience throughout the industry.
Reed Luhtanen, Executive Director and CEO of the FPC, stated, “The ability for business end-users to send and receive payments quickly, securely, and with confidence is critical to the value proposition of faster payments. This alliance with X9 ensures that end users will benefit from robust standards that not only improve compatibility and security but also help create a consistent experience across the industry. Together, we’re creating the framework that will support greater trust and adoption of faster payments.”
Building on the efforts of FPC’s Work Groups, which address topics such as fraud mitigation, cross-border payments, and operational considerations, the collaboration will ensure that insights and recommendations from these groups inform standards development. This approach aims to reflect the real-world needs of diverse stakeholders.
Steve Stevens, Executive Director of X9, commented, “Trust drives adoption. By combining the FPC’s practitioner insight with X9’s consensus-driven standards, we’re embedding assurance into every faster payment, so that banks, processors, and corporations can move funds with speed and certainty.”
As part of the alliance, a Joint Standards Steering Committee will be formed to provide strategic oversight and guide collaborative standards initiatives. This committee is scheduled to launch in early 2026, with nominations and elections for seats opening in the first quarter of that year.
The U.
S. Faster Payments Council is an industry-led membership organization working towards a payment system where Americans can safely and securely pay anyone, anywhere, at any time with near-immediate funds availability. The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc., accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a non-profit organization responsible for developing and maintaining national and international standards for the financial services industry.
