The Federal Reserve Board announced prices, effective January 1, 2027, for payment services provided by Federal Reserve Banks to banks and credit unions. The services include check clearing, automated clearing house (ACH) transactions, instant payments, and wholesale payment and settlement services.
Federal law requires the Federal Reserve to set fees to recover the costs of providing payment services over the long run, including imputed costs. The Fed expects to recover 101.5% of actual and imputed expenses in 2027, including the return on equity a private-sector firm would have earned by providing the services.
The price changes are expected to result in an average increase of 1.4% for established, mature services in 2027.
The Federal Reserve Banks also announced changes to streamline and adjust their check services. These include optimizing processing windows during low-volume periods, increasing fees paid by banks and credit unions to process checks, and other operational updates.
Check volumes at the Federal Reserve Banks are declining, but checks remain an important payment instrument for many consumers and businesses. The changes will not affect consumers’ or businesses’ ability to pay with or receive checks; they apply only to how banks and credit unions process checks with the Federal Reserve Banks.
The full 2027 fee schedule for the Federal Reserve’s payment services is available on FRBservices.org. Further information, including service usage statistics, is posted on the Board’s website.
