What U.S. Faster Payments Council does

The U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC) is a 501(c)(6) industry-led membership organization founded in 2018 as the governance body for faster payments in the United States. It emerged from the Federal Reserve-sponsored Faster Payments Task Force and the Governance Framework Formation Team, with an explicit mandate to address barriers to faster-payments adoption through private-sector collaboration. Its core "products" are not commercial software but collaborative services: twelve active work groups covering Instant Recurring Payments, Cross-Border Payments, Fraud and Scam Mitigation, Financial Inclusion, Digital Assets, Instant Payments Data Optimization, Exception Resolution, and other domains; the AFPP (Accredited Faster Payments Professional) certificate developed with Nacha; the FPC-X9 Joint Standards Steering Committee for technical standards alignment; the Knowledge Center and publications; the "Off the Rails" podcast; the FPC Blog; and the annual Fall Member Meeting (2026 edition scheduled for November 4–6 in Overland Park, KS).

The organization serves six delineated membership segments — Business End-Users (e.g., Walmart, Netflix, Home Depot), Financial Institutions (e.g., JPMorgan Chase, Corporate One FCU), Payment Network Operators (Mastercard, Visa, The Clearing House, Early Warning Services/Zelle), Technology Providers (ACI Worldwide, FIS, Fiserv), Consumer Organizations (National Consumer Law Center, National Consumers League), and Public-Sector Liaisons — under a tiered model of voting (General/Business) and non-voting (Associate) memberships. Revenue is generated through annual membership dues published in a tiered 2026 Dues Schedule PDF. Governance is exercised through a Board of Directors representing each segment, with operations run by a small executive team led by Executive Director & CEO Reed Luhtanen and supported by SVPs of Association Operations and Industry Relations. The FPC operates as a neutral, solution-agnostic forum under antitrust guardrails, with no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, and headcount in the 1–10 range.

Name

U.S. Faster Payments Council

Legal name

U.S. Faster Payments Council

Website

https://fasterpaymentscouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The U.S. Faster Payments Council is a 501(c)(6) industry-led membership organization that convenes financial institutions, payment networks, technology providers, business end-users, and consumer groups across 12 work groups to advance faster-payments ubiquity in the United States through collaboration, standards alignment, and the AFPP certification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Clarksburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from voting (General/Business) and non-voting (Associate) members. Dues schedule is published annually (2026 Dues Schedule PDF available). Business membership open to financial institutions, payment network operators, technology providers, consumer organizations, business end users. Associate membership for individuals not employed by eligible organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The U.S. Faster Payments Council operates an industry-led, non-profit membership association that convenes financial institutions, payment networks, technology providers, business end-users, consumer organizations, and public-sector liaisons to address issues inhibiting faster payments adoption in the United States. It sells Voting (General/Business) and Associate memberships, runs twelve active Work Groups, delivers the AFPP professional certification developed with Nacha, operates the FPC-X9 Joint Standards Steering Committee, and provides educational resources including the Knowledge Center, annual Fall Member Meeting, Off the Rails podcast, and FPC Blog.

Product overview

The U.S. Faster Payments Council is an industry-led membership organization, not a technology product company. It provides collaborative forums, professional certification (AFPP), educational resources, and hosts 12 active work groups addressing faster payments challenges. The organization also operates the FPC-X9 Joint Standards Steering Committee for technical standards alignment. Its portfolio consists of membership services, professional certification programs, knowledge resources, conferences, and media content (podcast, blog) that support the faster payments ecosystem rather than a commercial software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FPC Membership Program Industry-led membership organization enabling organizations to shape faster payments adoption, participate in work groups, and access FPC resources. Offers Voting (General/Business) and non-voting (Associate) membership tiers for financial institutions, technology providers, payment networks, consumer organizations, and business end users.
• AFPP: Accredited Faster Payments Professional Certificate Professional certification program for individuals seeking to demonstrate expertise in faster payments concepts, implementation, and best practices, with member certification process being developed in conjunction with Nacha.
• FPC Work Groups Twelve active work groups addressing specific faster payments challenges including Instant Recurring Payments, Education & Awareness, Faster Payments User Experience, Cross-Border Payments, Fraud and Scam Mitigation, Financial Inclusion, Operational Considerations for Instant & Immediate Payments, Digital Assets in the Financial Industry, Instant Payments Data Optimization, and Exception Resolution for Account-Based Payments.
• FPC-X9 Joint Standards Steering Committee Joint committee with the Accredited Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9) focused on driving faster payments ubiquity through standards leadership, interoperability, and technical excellence, combining the FPC's industry expertise with ASC X9's technical standards development infrastructure.
• FPC Annual Fall Member Meeting Annual in-person member conference bringing together FPC members for networking, work group sessions, and industry discussions on faster payments.

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Federal Reserve SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The FPC emerged from a multi-year Federal Reserve-supported initiative. The Faster Payments Task Force, with 320+ industry stakeholders and Federal Reserve support, directed the Governance Framework Formation Team (GFFT) to develop the faster payments governance framework that became the FPC's Operating Vision.
• Accredited Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FPC-ASC X9 Joint Standards Steering Committee (JSSC) was established to address standards-related challenges limiting faster payments adoption. The JSSC combines FPC's real-world industry expertise with ASC X9's technical standards development infrastructure, serving as the industry's central forum for strategic standards alignment.
• Governance Framework Formation Team (GFFT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry body that developed and implemented the faster payments governance framework including all stakeholders to facilitate ubiquity of faster payments in the United States, resulting in the FPC's Operating Vision finalized in 2018.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nacha: Governing body for the ACH network and operator of the Afinis interoperability standards program; comparable as a non-profit payments-industry association running work groups, rule-making, and certification programs across the U.S. payments ecosystem. FPC co-developed the AFPP certification with Nacha.
• US Payments Forum (part of PCI SSC): Industry collaboration forum focused on secure, interoperable U.S. payments. Directly comparable as a cross-segment membership body convening networks, FIs, merchants, and processors on implementation challenges — overlapping with several FPC work-group topics.
• Accredited Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9): ANSI-accredited standards body for the financial services industry. Comparable as a formal standards-development organization; FPC partners with ASC X9 via the Joint Standards Steering Committee, making them adjacent governance bodies in the same standards ecosystem.
• Association for Financial Professionals (AFP): Membership association for treasury and finance professionals with strong focus on payments, including the AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey. Comparable as a payments-education and professional-certification body for treasury and payments practitioners.
• Electronic Transactions Association (ETA): Trade association for the payments industry representing payments processors, fintechs, and ISOs. Comparable as a multi-segment membership organization serving payments-technology providers, with annual events and policy advocacy.
• Payments Innovation Alliance (Federal Reserve): Federal Reserve-convened payments-industry collaboration forum offering work groups and education. Directly comparable in mission and operating model to FPC; both emerged from Federal Reserve payments-improvement initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• The Clearing House Payments Company: Operator of the RTP real-time payments rail and industry association representing major U.S. banks. Comparable as both a payment-network operator and an industry body convening FIs on faster-payments policy, standards, and adoption.
• BAI: Industry association providing research, training, and events for retail banking and payments professionals. Comparable as a banking-focused membership organization with education, events, and thought-leadership content overlapping with FPC's Knowledge Center and conferences.
• American Bankers Association (ABA): Large trade association representing U.S. banks with extensive payments, compliance, and standards work. Comparable as a banking-industry membership body with policy influence and member education, though far broader in scope than FPC.

Emerging players

• Merchant Risk Council: Industry association focused on e-commerce fraud, payments risk, and merchant best practices. Comparable as a payments-focused membership body with work-group output; FPC's fraud-and-scam-mitigation work group addresses overlapping themes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about U.S. Faster Payments Council