[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2348 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2348

  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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2023

 Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
                       Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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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