The Federal Reserve Banks’ FedLine® Solutions are a critical component of the U.S. electronic payment system and provide access to FedACH® Services, Fedwire® Services, FedCash® Services and other services. While we layer and embed security within FedLine, organizations that use our services play a vital role in safeguarding information and transactions submitted or received over FedLine. Given the ever-evolving threat landscape, the Federal Reserve Banks will pilot the FedLine Solutions Security Assurance Program in the coming months. The results of this pilot will inform a broader assurance program that will apply to all organizations, including organizations that use service providers to connect to services through FedLine. Broad deployment is being evaluated and will be shaped by pilot results.
The assurance program will guide organizations to evaluate their security controls to help reduce the risk of fraudulent payments. Organizations will validate that they comply with Federal Reserve Bank security requirements.
What to expect
Organizations are already required to implement, maintain and assess technical and procedural security controls to safeguard their FedLine connections. The assurance program will require all organizations to attest that they have completed an assessment against required FedLine security controls.
How to prepare
Account executives will contact organizations in the near term seeking volunteers to participate in the pilot phase program. Otherwise, no immediate action is required at this time. Until the assurance program is rolled out broadly, continue to review your organization’s policies and procedures as established under the Security and Control Procedures for each FedLine Solution that your organization utilizes. Outlined in these requirements is a mandate that organizations should periodically conduct a review to ensure their compliance with the security controls.
Who to contact if you have questions
We look forward to working with your organization to help reduce the risk of fraudulent payments being sent through the payment system. Please contact the Customer Contact Center (CCC) at (888) 333-7010 or your account executive with questions about the assurance program.
