[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5039 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5039
To amend the Expedited Funds Availability Act to require that funds
deposited be available for withdrawal in real-time, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2023
Ms. Pressley (for herself and Mr. Lynch) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Expedited Funds Availability Act to require that funds
deposited be available for withdrawal in real-time, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Payments Modernization Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Families in the United States spend billions of dollars
in overdraft fees in part because they are waiting for checks
to clear over a weekend or holiday.
(2) The inefficient payment system in the United States
drives families, especially those living paycheck to paycheck,
to use high-cost financial services to access funds more
rapidly.
(3) A faster payment system would provide people of the
United States immediate access to funds and relief for those
who overdraw their accounts because their deposits are not
available in real-time, helping families potentially save
billions of dollars each year.
(4) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
has created FedNow, an instant payment infrastructure that
allows participants to send and receive funds in real time.
(5) Financial services providers have a duty to make
payments available as soon as it is reasonably possible.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to ensure that the United States has a safe, fast,
efficient, equitable, and fair payment system; and
(2) to clarify that financial institutions shall prioritize
efficient payments, except in cases in which fraudulent
activity is suspected.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``real-time'' has the meaning given the term
in section 602 of the Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C.
4001), as amended by section 4(a) of this Act.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT THAT FUNDS DEPOSITED BE AVAILABLE FOR WITHDRAWAL IN
REAL-TIME.
(a) Definitions.--
(1) In general.--Section 602 of the Expedited Funds
Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4001) is amended--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (20) through (25)
as paragraphs (21) through (26), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (19) the
following:
``(20) Real-time.--The term `real-time'--
``(A) means any time; and
``(B) includes a Saturday, Sunday, and a legal
holiday.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section 3 of the
Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (12 U.S.C.
5002(2)(D)(iv)) is amended by striking ``section 602(24)'' and
inserting ``section 602(25)''.
(b) Expedited Funds Availability Schedules.--Section 603 of the
Expedited Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4002) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Next
Business Day'' and inserting ``Real-time'';
(B) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``Except as provided in
subsection (e) and in section 604, in'' and
inserting ``In''; and
(ii) in the matter following subparagraph
(B) by striking ``not later than the business
day after the business day on which'' and
inserting ``in real-time when''; and
(C) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``not later than the
business day after the business day on which'' and
inserting ``in real-time after'';
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Permanent Schedule.--Funds deposited in an account at a
depository institution by a check drawn on a local or nonlocal
originating depository institution shall be available for withdrawal in
real-time.'';
(3) by striking subsections (c) and (d);
(4) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections
(c) and (d), respectively;
(5) in subsection (c), as redesignated by paragraph (4)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``Not more than 4
business days shall intervene between
the business day a'' and inserting
``A'';
(II) by inserting a comma after
``subparagraph (B)'';
(III) by striking ``is''; and
(IV) by striking ``and the business
day on which funds from such deposit
are available for withdrawal'' and
inserting ``shall be available for
withdrawal in real-time''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), in the
subparagraph heading, by striking ``paragraph''
and inserting ``subparagraph''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``, (b), and (c)'' and
inserting ``and (b)''; and
(ii) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``temporary and permanent schedules'' and
inserting ``permanent schedule''; and
(6) in subsection (d)(2), as redesignated by paragraph (4),
by striking ``(c), or (e)'' and inserting ``or (c)''.
(c) Safeguard Exceptions.--Section 604 of the Expedited Funds
Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4003) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the paragraph heading by striking
``Next business day'' and inserting ``Real-
time''; and
(ii) in the matter following subparagraph
(D) by striking ``on the business day after the
business day on which such cash or funds are
deposited or, in the case of a wire transfer,
on the business day after the business day on
which'' and inserting ``in real-time after such
cash or funds are deposited or, in the case of
a wire transfer, in real-time after'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``, 603(c), or paragraphs''
and inserting ``paragraph''; and
(ii) by striking ``603(e)'' and inserting
``603(c)''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3)(B) and inserting the
following:
``(B) any such funds deposited in excess of such
amount shall be available for withdrawal in real-
time.'';
(2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``(c), or (e)'' and inserting ``or (c)'';
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``(c), and (e)'' and
inserting ``and (c)''; and
(4) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``(c), and (e)'' and inserting ``and (c)''.
(d) Miscellaneous Provisions.--Section 607 of the Expedited Funds
Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4006) is amended--
(1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); and
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as
subsections (a) through (d), respectively.
(e) Regulations and Reports by Board.--Section 609 of the Expedited
Funds Availability Act (12 U.S.C. 4008) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(8), by striking ``, pursuant to the
study under subsection (f)'';
(2) by striking subsections (d) and (f); and
(3) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d).
(f) GAO Study.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall publish
a study on the impact of payment delays on disadvantaged communities,
including underbanked communities, and future access to and use of
financial services by those communities.
(g) Federal Reserve Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of the FedNow
instant payment infrastructure, including--
(1) any obstacles encountered with respect to institutions
opting to utilize FedNow or participants using FedNow; and
(2) any challenges anticipated with respect to expanding
the utilization of FedNow.
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