Educational materials outlining the lifecycles, security characteristics and relevant laws and regulations for the most common payment types were published Friday as a last act of a Federal Reserve group dedicated to studying payments systems.
The Payment Lifecycles and Security Profiles was published by the Secure Payments Task Force, a group formed in 2015 by the Fed, but which officially ended its service on March 1. The next role of the group, the Federal Reserve said then, is a transition into the “FedPayments Improvement Community.” That body, the agency said, will “to provide stakeholders with opportunities to engage in the Federal Reserve’s ongoing payment improvement initiatives.”
The Profiles published Friday look at: the lifecycles of the most common payment types, covering enrollment, transaction flow and reconciliation; security methods, identity management controls and sensitive data occurring at each step in the payment lifecycle; and relevant laws and regulations, and other references, as well as challenges and improvement opportunities related to each payment type.
According to the group, the Profiles have a consistent format for describing the lifecycle of each payment type. It is designed, the group said, “as a broad taxonomy that can be applied across different payment types for understanding and comparing controls and risks.”
The group also noted that the “improvement opportunities” outlined in the Profiles “highlight areas for further industry exploration and are not intended as guidance or specific solutions to be implemented.”