Wow this is the first I've seen of this, amazing it hasn't come across my radar. Seems like a major consolidation, tied closely to a government institution (or whatever the FRB technically is).
Can you explain what you mean by consolidation? It's essentially a standards-based collaborative approach not unlike other large payment networks like in the UK, Europe and India.
Apologies for the armchair commentary. "Consolidation" meaning commerce regulation and oversight more tightly consolidated than possible with technology (including paper notes) currently used.
> ...standards-based collaborative approach...
You have not said this explicitly, but for myself it is notable that this is not peer-to-peer, with both parties collaborating based on a standard. Instead it is clearinghouse. Unlike peer-to-peer standards, this would give the Fed Reserve at least a large dataset or at most a large control lever. From the linked article:
> Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service...
> Consistent with the Federal Reserve’s historical role of providing payment services...
