Friday, September 15, 2023
Hosted by the Electronic Transactions Association and sponsored by Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Bank of America, Discover Global Network, FIS, Intuit, King & Spalding, Mastercard, Pathward, Venable and Visa, the annual event brought together public and private sector leaders committed to crafting productive, business-friendly policies, event organizers stated.
Scott Talbott, ETA executive vice president, noted the association's annual fintech forum maintains the same structure, year after year, while its agenda, topics and participants continually evolve. "The agenda of ETA's annual Fintech Policy Forum changes each year to reflect the modern payments industry," he said. "This year's new topic was AI; two years ago, it was digital assets."
In opening the day-long conference, ETA CEO Jodie Kelley mentioned the critical roles that ETA, payments and government leaders play in creating secure electronic transactions at scale. ETA, she noted, is where the payments technology world gets educated, engages in policy advocacy and invents the future of commerce.
By working together, Kelley noted, ETA member company executives and policymakers can create public policies that benefit consumers, businesses and the greater economy.
In a fireside chat about cryptocurrency policymaking, Congressman Darren Soto, D-Fla.-09, told Jeff Patchen, director of government affairs at the ETA, that different states, such as New York, Illinois and California, are crafting crypto policies, but ultimately the United States needs a national standard and payment leaders need to help educate lawmakers.
The Senate doesn't pass nearly as many bills as the House, Soto stated, urging the audience to help educate lawmakers by describing technology anecdotally and in layman's terms. "Florida passed privacy legislation but we want to get to a national standard to protect everything from health to geolocation to DNA protection, by national law," he said.
While introducing a panel on financial inclusion through fintech, Talbott noted that over the past decade, ETA members have created accessible, affordable technologies to make financial offerings available to a broader audience. Panelists included Sara Reid, public policy liaison, financial inclusion, FIS; Rina Bakhtiani, head of vertical solutions & client segments, Bank of America; Stacy Taylor, head of policy and partnerships, Propel; and moderator Natalia Li, director, U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Panelists shared strategies for working with underserved populations, such as reviewing phone bills and alternative data when underwriting individuals with spare credit histories. Mobile apps and geolocation technologies, for example, can help credit providers reach eligible consumers in affected areas by providing cash assistance through mobile apps.
Noting that Propel builds consumer-facing software, Taylor said, "We started out trying to solve a different problem—applying for benefits—but in talking to people at grocery stores, we realized most people who were receiving [EBT] benefits were having challenges managing it." In response, Propel built a mobile app that made benefits more accessible to all recipients, Taylor noted, including those with disabilities.
An annual white paper details how ETA member companies are solving for financial inclusion. For additional information, visit www.electran.org/public-policy/industry-insights/
Transacting in a digital-first world presents a new set of security and identity challenges, which was addressed in a panel moderated by Kate Griffin, director of programs, financial security program, Aspen Institute. Panelists included Kay Turner, chief digital identity advisor, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN); Jason Kratovil, head of public policy and external affairs, SentiLink; and Bipin Thakur, vice president, account takeover, authentication and new product development, American Express.
Noting that fraudsters impersonate others, evade detection and compromise credentials during authentication processes, Turner named fraud, false identity, ID theft, money laundering and circumventing standards as leading threats to the financial and payments ecosystems.
Kratovil agreed, stating that first-party fraud and identity theft risks are significantly elevated across the board. He commended the Social Security Administration for developing electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (eCVSB), a digital tool that allows permitted entities to verify that an individual's Social Security number, name, and date of birth matches Social Security records.
From security and fraud prevention to cloud computing, underwriting and customer service, there's no doubt that AI is top of mind in all industries, ETA members stated, adding that regulators and private enterprises are exploring safe and responsible guidelines for implementation. A panel discussion led by Meredith Boylan, partner at Paul Hastings, with panelists Brian Gibbons, chief data officer, data management & insights, Wells Fargo; Lovell Saunders, director, IT business services (fintech), Global Payments; and Jan Fowler Antonaros, U.S. Federal Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google, examined use cases and regulatory approaches.
Antonaros underscored the need for the United States to clearly define guidance. "For the U.S. to lead in technology, it needs bold regulatory framework that is also responsible and safe," he said. "We all need to ensure that the regulatory environment is done right."
Regulatory staffers shared views on policymaking in a panel moderated by Jonah Crane, partner, Klaros Group. Panelists included Gareth Henley, innovation officer, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC); Jeff Ernst, manager, innovation policy, division of supervision & regulation, Federal Reserve Board; Amy Zirkle, senior program manager, payments and deposits, Office of Consumer Credit, Payments & Deposits Markets, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
As the group explored the concept of "novel activities," Ernst mentioned that the Fed is creating a focus group to evaluate a range of emerging technologies, including distributed ledger, crypto assets and complex bank-fintech partnerships. "The key is innovating responsibly with a solid, well-thought-out plan," he said.
These sentiments were amplified in further discussions on bank and fintech partnerships, digital assets, international payments and open banking, Talbott stated, adding that it was inspiring to see competitors in the payments space come together to advance good public policy.
"The key takeaways are that the payments industry is competitive, dynamic and always forward-looking," he said. "The speed of innovation for new technologies for both payments and fighting fraud is impressive."
For a copy of the agenda, visit etaevents.electran.org/fintech-policy-forum/ 
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