Stripe is watching FedNow "closely"

Stripe is not currently working on products related to FedNow, the highly anticipated instant payments system developed by the Federal Reserve.

Why it matters: News of the Fed-backed payments infrastructure has triggered debate and anxiety over how it will affect the fintech ecosystem.

What's happening: Banks are expected to have direct access to FedNow, slated to launch in July. The ostensibly faster and cheaper network could give banks a leg up in their competition with fintechs.

• The Financial Technology Association, which represents fintechs including Stripe and Block, last year called on the Fed to make the network more accessible to fintechs and not just to licensed banks.
• Still, some fintechs are seeing opportunity in the new rails, with Fika Ventures TX Zhuo recently arguing that it could boost the amount of fintech innovation around independent contractors.

Yes, but: That entire scenario assumes that FedNow hits scale.

Driving the news: "We're tracking it closely," President of Product and Business Will Gaybrick says, noting the company is not actively working on anything related to FedNow. "I really do think real-time payments are going to be a big deal."

• "As I understand FedNow, there isn't yet a mandate, so banks don't have to implement it," he added. "For things to completely change the landscape of payments, you need universal coverage."

• If, for instance, only 30% of banks support FedNow, then it's unlikely to become a priority for merchants to adopt the system.

Bottom line: "We're keen to see, as it gets implemented, how enthusiastic banks are," he says, "and if it ends up being something that we believe is actually going to be a lot of value to our users."