New ways of making payments have emerged as technological advances such as smartphones enable consumers, businesses and financial institutions to exchange information more freely and quickly. The conference brought together top industry participants, policymakers and academics for an in-depth look at consumer payment innovation and the role of public policy in an age of increasing connectedness. Among the questions addressed included:
- Is increasing connectedness likely to revolutionize consumer payments?
- Will insufficient competition or a lack of market standards hold back innovation?
- What new risks and privacy concerns are created by payment innovation?
- Will new products such as mobile payments increase access of the underbanked to the payment system?
- What changes in the clearing and settlement of consumer payments would facilitate innovation?
Foreword
Opening Remarks
Esther L. George
President and Chief Executive Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Conference Summary
Barbara S. Pacheco
Senior Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Session 1: Increasing Connectedness and Consumer Payments: An Overview
Paper
Commentary Kingsborough
Commentary Varian
General Discussion
Moderator:
Kathy Walker
Managing Director
OpenAir Equity Partners
Author:
Michael L. Katz
Professor of Economics
University of California, Berkeley
Discussants:
Don Kingsborough
Vice President of Retail and Prepaid
PayPal
Hal R. Varian
Chief Economist
Google
Session 2: Market Obstacles to Consumer Payment Innovation and Public Policy Responses
Panel Discussion
General Discussion
Moderator:
Chris Bierbaum
General Manager, Mobile Commerce
Sprint Nextel Corporation
Panelists:
Nicholas Economides
Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business
New York University
David S. Evans
Founder
Market Platform Dynamics
Alan Frankel
Founder
Coherent Economics
Bob Lee
Chief Technology Officer
Square
Keynote Address
Joseph Farrell
Director, Bureau of Economics
Federal Trade Commission
Keynote
General Discussion
Session 3: Risk and Privacy Implications of Consumer Payment Innovation in the Connected Age
Paper
Commentary Acquisti
Commentary Hughes
General Discussion
Moderator:
Gary Fish
President and Chief Executive Officer
FishNet Security
Ross Anderson
Professor of Security Engineering
University of Cambridge
Discussants:
Alessandro Acquisti
Associate Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy
Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University
Sarah Jane Hughes
University Scholar and Fellow in Commercial Law
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Session 4: Ensuring Commerce Access to the Payments System in the Connected Age
Panel Discussion
General Discussion
Moderator:
Rachel Schneider
Vice President, Innovation and Research
Center for Financial Services Innovation
Kevin Morrison
Senior Vice President, Prepaid
U.S. Bank
Louisa M. Quittman
Director, Office of Financial Education
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Steve Streit
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Green Dot Corporation
Session 5: Facilitating Consumer Payment Innovation through Changes in Clearing and Settlement
Paper
Commentary Mabott
Commentary Platt
General Discussion
Moderator:
Michael Brown
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Euronet Worldwide
Author:
Bruce J. Summers
Former Director
Federal Reserve Information Technology
Discussants:
Richard Mabbott
Director, Major Projects
Faster Payments Scheme Limited
Neil Platt
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Payments, Fiserv/CashEdge
Session 6: Perspectives on the Role of Public Policy in Facilitating Payment Innovation
Panel Discussion
General Discussion
Moderator:
Sean O'Connor
Adviser, Payments System Development Group
World Bank
Panelists:
Malcolm Edey
Assistant Governor
Reserve Bank of Australia
Gerard B.J. Hartsink
Chairman
European Payments Council
Ricardo Medina
Director of Payment Systems
Bank of Mexico
M.J. Moltenbrey
Partner
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP