The conference was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, November 9-10, 2009, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Retail payments systems around the world have entered a period of dramatic change. This conference explored the changing retail payments landscape and assessed the extent to which central bank payments policies should correspondingly be altered. The conference brought together three principal audiences – industry participants, policy makers, and academics – for an exchange of views and thoughts.

Questions addressed included: How do payments markets differ from other markets? How do consumer preferences impact industry outcomes? Are payments markets sufficiently competitive and safe? If not, what private and public policies would be beneficial? Should central bank policies to ensure smoothly-functioning payments systems be adapted in light of the dynamic changes underway? More specifically, what role should central banks play as operators and overseers in the retail payments system of the future.