The act required the Board to put a schedule of fees into effect by September 1, 1981.
Services covered by the fee schedules are available to all depository institutions.
In preparing the pricing principles and fee schedules, the Board takes into account the objectives of fostering competition, improving the efficiency of the payment mechanism, and lowering costs of these services to society at large. At the same time, the Board is cognizant of, and concerned with, the continuing Federal Reserve responsibility and necessity for maintaining the integrity and reliability of the payment mechanism and providing an adequate level of service nationwide. The legislative history of the act indicates that the Congress had two objectives in establishing a requirement that the Federal Reserve price the services it provides. First, the Congress sought to encourage competition to ensure provision of these services at the lowest cost to society. Also, the Congress was concerned with ensuring an adequate level of services nationwide.