to be substantial progress. 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the federal reserve will also pursue two new efforts focused on security. early in 2018, we plan to launch a study analyzing payment security vulnerabilities. this study is similar to other research efforts that the federal reserve has pursued to build foundational and collective understanding of the u. s. payment system. we also plan to build upon the contributions of the secure payments task force to establish work groups focused on approaches for reducing the cost and prevalence of specific payment security vulnerabilities. in a world of ever - escalating threats to the integrity of our payment system, this collective action is needed to sustain public confidence. these were just a few of our new initiatives. the package of next steps the federal reserve outlined in its recent paper confirm that we remain steadfast in our commitment to work with industry and other stakeholders to achieve a better payment system through both leadership and action. summary rapidly changing technology is providing a historic opportunity to transform our daily lives, including the way we pay. fintech firms and banks are embracing this change, as they strive to address consumer demands for more timely and convenient payments. a range of innovative products that seamlessly integrate with other services is now available at our fingertips. it is essential, however, that this innovation not come at the cost of a safe and secure payment system that retains the confidence of its end users. the examples i have drawn upon today highlight that fintech firms and banks must each play a role in assuring that enhancements to convenience and speed do not undermine safety and security. more broadly, the faster and secure payments task forces demonstrate the importance of broad and diverse stakeholder input, which are essential if the united states is to implement safe, ubiquitous real - time retail payments. working together, we can achieve a safe and fast payments system that meets the evolving needs of consumers and our dynamic economy. 1 see, e. g., miklos dietz, somesh khanna, tunde olanrewaju, and kausik rajgopal, “ cutting through the noise around financial technology, ” mckinsey & company, february, 2016, www. mckinsey. com / industries / financialservices / our - insights / cutting - through - the - noise - around - financialtechnology. 2 see lael brainard, “ where do banks fit in the fintech stack? ” ( speech delivered at the northwestern kellogg public -

private interface conference on “ new developments in consumer finance : research & practice, ” evanston, illinois, april 28, 2017 ). 3 “ your guide to winning the shift to mobile, ” google, micro - moments, september www. thinkwithgoogle. com / marketing - resources / micro - moments / micromoments - guide - pdf - download /. 2015, 4 cashing the funds out of the app to use for other payments, however, has traditionally taken longer. 5 see federal reserve system, “ strategies for improving the u. s. payment system ( pdf ), ” january 26, 2015. 6 see faster payments task force ( 2017 ), “ the u. s. path to faster payments, final report part two : a call to action, ” fasterpaymentstaskforce. org /. 7 the task force recommended establishing an external qualified independent assessment team to conduct objective proposal assessments. on behalf of the task force, the federal reserve selected mckinsey & company to conduct a comprehensive assessment of each faster payment solution proposal against the task force ’ s set of criteria. 8 see federal reserve system, “ federal reserve next steps in the payments improvement journey ( pdf ), ” september 6, 2017. 9 see board of governors of the federal reserve system, “ policies : the federal reserve in the payments system, ” revised 1990. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches