Bankers’ Bank of the West is among the more than 110 organizations selected to participate in the Federal Reserve’s FedNowSM Pilot Program.

The financial institutions and processors involved in the program will help shape its functions and features, offer user experience feedback, and assure readiness for testing. What’s more, they will become the first to experience the FedNow Service before it becomes widely available.

The Federal Reserve Banks are creating the FedNow Service to facilitate nationwide reach of instant payment services by financial institutions – whatever their size or geographic location – in practically real time, around the clock, every day of the year. By working through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, individuals and businesses will be able to send and receive instant payments easily. Recipients of instant payments will have access to funds within seconds, enabling them to manage their money and make time-sensitive payments.

To access more news, the full list of Pilot Program participants, and other pertinent information, visit FRBServices.org.

Amelia Moore is optimistic that consumers’ interest in supporting small business over the holiday season bodes well for her business, Mimi’s Minis, whose products—miniature stuffed animals—will be available exclusively online from late November to early December.

“No two Minis are exactly alike, and they make a special holiday gift for young children, teachers—anyone, really!” she said.

A fifth-grade student at Steele Elementary School in Denver, Amelia is one of some 40 young entrepreneurs planning to sell their products at the online YouthBiz Marketplace from Nov. 27 through Dec. 6. She intends to donate 50 percent of her profits to local animal shelters.

The online event is hosted by Young Americans Center for Financial Education, a nonprofit that also houses the world’s only bank specifically designed for youth up to age 22: Young Americans Bank. The Center offers programs that complement and reinforce one another to build life skills, work skills, and financial self-sufficiency.

The Center’s YouthBiz Director Maite Wantwadi noted that the inability to hold a live in-person sales event during a pandemic seemed like an obstacle at first. Instead, it became an opportunity for the young business owners to develop new skills suited to ecommerce.

Customers looking to “shop small” are encouraged to check out Amelia’s business and those of the other participating entrepreneurs at the YouthBiz Marketplace from Nov. 27 through Dec. 6.

Bankers’ Bank of the West has supported Young Americans Center for more than a decade on the belief that the early and effective financial education provided by the Center makes a lasting positive impact on children’s lives. Find more information on the Center at yacenter.org.