These assessments have focused in the past, and should continue to focus in the future, on the Federal Reserve’s role as a provider of retail payment services. Large-value payments systems, such as Fedwire, are typically viewed as core, systemically important services, and they are commonly provided by other central banks around the globe.
A rationale for the participation of a governmentrelated entity, such as the Federal Reserve, in the retail payments system is harder to formulate.