Fees for Fed priced services up about 1.4% in 2027 for ‘mature’ services

Pricing for 2027 Federal Reserve payment services for banks and credit unions is expected to rise an estimated 1.4% on average for “established, mature” services, the Federal Reserve Board said Thursday.

The Fed, noting its requirement to recover costs under the Monetary Control Act, said it expects to recover 101.5% of actual and imputed expenses related to such services in 2027. Price increases are to offset rising costs and reduce pricing complexity, it said.

Among these changes are “strategic” pricing and operational changes to check services; and the introduction of a new Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) access fee, “along with corresponding simplification and reduction of existing connectivity fees,” according to a draft notice for the Federal Register.

The notice said, among other things, that the FRFS access fee includes access to a suite of FedLine® services and discounts for customers meeting certain eligibility requirements. “At the same time, the Reserve Banks are making corresponding changes to reduce or eliminate fees for various FedLine connectivity solutions that will be included with the new FRFS Access Fee,” the Fed said.

The Fed provides check services, ACH, FedWire, FedNow (for real-time clearing and settlement), the national settlement service and others.

Federal Reserve Board announces pricing, effective January 1, 2027, for payment services the Federal Reserve Banks provide to banks and credit unions, and changes to streamline and adjust their check services