alongside the private - sector system. commenters highlighted the importance of safety in faster payments and noted the federal reserve's record of resiliency, especially during periods of stress. commenters observed that a federal reserve real - time retail payment service would increase competition, decrease market concentration, and provide a neutral platform for innovation. this broad support echoes and expands on the conclusions of the faster payments task force. similarly, the u. s. treasury department recommended that " the federal reserve move quickly to facilitate a faster retail payment system, such as through the development of a real - time settlement service that would also allow for more efficient and widespread access to innovative payment capabilities. " 5 in determining the path forward, we are building on the federal reserve's long history of operating payment systems as a core part of the nation's payment infrastructure. since they opened for business around the country in 1914, as directed by the congress, the federal reserve banks have provided payment and settlement services — in healthy competition with private - sector providers — to achieve public benefits ranging from resiliency to innovation to equal access. when you look across the current payment infrastructure, whether in check processing, automated clearinghouse ( ach ) services, or funds transfers, you will see a federal reserve 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches service operating alongside private - sector providers. the general accountability office has concluded that the federal reserve's provision of payment services has benefited the u. s. payment system and its users. 6 the federal reserve does not have regulatory authority over the pricing set by a private - sector system or to require a private - sector system to extend the service to banks of all sizes, particularly the last mile. in some other countries, central banks have been assigned the responsibility for regulating payment systems. however, this is not the approach that congress has taken. instead, the federal reserve's role as an operator has long been seen as an effective approach to promote accessible, safe, and efficient payments in the united states. through the fednow service, we will provide a foundation for the future — a modern payment infrastructure that allows innovation and competition to flourish and delivers faster payments safely and securely for all. to ensure fast payments are available to everyone, fednow will be accessible to all banks, no matter the size. given our long - standing service connections with more than 10, 000 banks across the country, the federal reserve is uniquely placed to deliver this outcome. the bar is high when we assess whether the federal

minor in scope. a number of banking organizations from developing countries have also had difficulties related to inadequate controls in recent years, particularly banks from countries with weak supervisory oversight. the difficulties have created significant losses for these banking organizations. the lessons from these cases for developing country supervision are that basic control functions are critical to all organizations, no matter what the size, and that banks operating overseas must be monitored carefully and continuously. related to these cases is the broader issue of implementing a rigorous supervisory structure for foreign banking organizations. we have seen in our markets that the increased competition produced by opening the banking sector to foreign institutions can enhance efficiency. for developing countries, the introduction of foreign competition is likely also to introduce a transfer of skills to the local banking community. staff trained by foreign bankers often move to local institutions, and foreign bankers themselves have been involved in training local banking staff. for example, in the people ’ s republic of china, a prominent u. s. banking organization has been providing training for staff and executives of state - owned, local banks - - training the organization believes will benefit its business in the longer run by increasing the sophistication of the market as a whole. yet from the perspective of the home country supervisor, introducing an appropriate supervisory apparatus is important to monitor the activities of these banks and to enhance the host supervisor ’ s understanding of the global institution and supervisory framework in the home country market. the development of a clear supervisory framework for foreign banking organizations will improve the safety and soundness of the banking sector as a whole. and in addition, the supervision of foreign banking organizations may provide a training opportunity to host supervisors in developing countries, given the quality of information and risk management practices in many foreign banking organizations operating in their market. conclusion the increasingly integrated nature of financial sectors around the world has increased the importance of sound banking supervision in all financial markets. the u. s. experience provides valuable lessons for the development of effective supervision in developing countries, but those lessons must be viewed within the institutional context of each market. the earlier stages of development in our system may hold the most important practices for developing countries. i wish you all the best in your very important work in this field and have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to speak with you today.