While the Fedwire is not managed for a profit, law does mandate the Fedwire charge fees for use of the service in order to recoup costs. Both participants in a given transaction will pay a small fee.
The Fedwire system processes trillions of dollars daily, and it includes an overdraft system covers participants with existing and approved accounts. It has been in operation in some format for nearly 100 years, and as such, the Fedwire system is designed to be highly reliable. It often processes high dollar values, and critical recurring payments domestically and abroad.
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• Fedwire, the Federal Reserve's electronic-payments system couldn't operate after generators failed.