NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — You may have used a cash app to send or transfer money to friends or family...maybe even your landlord. There's Venmo, Cash App, Zelle and more, but now the federal government is entering the "instant payment" field.
This is just rolled out last week.
It's called FedNow and works like the other programs but it's not an app. It is supposed to be a quicker way to send money directly between banks -- with no middleman involved.
To use it, both parties' banks have to enroll.
Several institutions have already done that, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.
You'll have to reach out to these banks or yours to find out when they're planning to make the service available to customers. You may be glad to hear that the FedNow service cannot access your bank account.
If you're still worried, it may help to know that the US is behind other countries that already offer similar services including England, China, Sweden and India.
