By payment and Collection Instruments we mean Electronic credit, or wire,
transfers are the predominant method of making payments, in terms of value.
In terms of volume, cheques remain very important, despite a steady decline in recent years.
The use of payment cards is increasing and is set to eventually overtake the cheque as the most popular non-cash retail
payment instrument.
The United States of America USA has been slow to take up
EMV technology
but several major banks are introducing contactless smart cards, which do not require a signature,
initially targeting low-value transactions.
Banking system
Central bank
The central bank in the USA, the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), is a network of twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, headed by the Washington-based Board of Governors.
The Fed exercises monetary policy by controlling the availability of funds and setting basic interest rates.
Bank supervision
At the federal level, three bodies have the primary responsibility for bank supervision:
- The Federal Reserve regulates Edge Act banks, the US branches of foreign banks and foreign activities of US banks.
It also supervises state chartered member banks and US bank holding companies.
- The US Treasury Office of the Comptroller of the Currency regulates national banks.
- The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission regulates banks that do not hold accounts with the Federal Reserve system.