They were shims around Congress not providing the Fed the authority to establish instant payment infra until very recently (~3-4 years ago). With instant payment utility capabilities, you can eliminate the need for these shims and other antiquated financial infra previously supporting faster settlement (RTP, Zelle, credit/debit cards, etc).

Very pleasant to see the US catch up to the developed world in this regard [1].

[1] https://www.moderntreasury.com/journal/real-time-payments-ar...