Electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) services are a core component of many financial institutions' on-line banking offerings. This paper discusses the laws (state and federal), regulations, and regulatory guidance generally applicable to EBPP services offered through financial...

The electronic purse, a new payments instrument offering advantages to both consumers and merchants, may soon replace currency in many routine transactions. Widespread use of the electronic purse could, however, raise concerns about consumer protection and the safety and soundness of the instrument.

The delivery and payment of bills over the Internet could offer many advantages—low processing costs and enhanced marketing opportunities for billers, savings in time and postage for customers. Nevertheless, electronic billing has not found favor with potential users. A lack of coordination...

An examination of how much Federal Reserve Banks should charge for daylight overdrafts. A low fee involves questions of moral hazard in central banking, while a high fee raises questions about risk myopia in private credit markets.

In the past decade, the U.S. economy has witnessed a tremendous surge in the usage of electronic payment processing services and an increased importance of the firms that provide these services. The payments industry has also undergone changes in cost structure with the introduction of new...

Wholesale payments and settlement systems in G-10 countries have undergone significant change in recent years. Notably, central banks have sought to increase the safety and reliability of these systems. In this article, William R. Emmons describes two approaches that have been pursued....