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?

PDF2012 Conference Proceedings

PDFForeword
PDFOpening Remarks
Esther L. George
President and Chief Executive Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

PDFContributors

PDFConference Summary
Barbara S. Pacheco
Senior Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

PDFSession 1: Increasing Connectedness and Consumer Payments: An Overview
PDFPaper
PDFCommentary Kingsborough
PDFCommentary Varian
PDFGeneral Discussion

Moderator:
PDFKathy Walker
Managing Director
OpenAir Equity Partners

Author:
PDFMichael L. Katz
Professor of Economics
University of California, Berkeley

Discussants:
PDFDon Kingsborough
Vice President of Retail and Prepaid
PayPal
PDFHal R. Varian
Chief Economist
Google

PDFSession 2: Market Obstacles to Consumer Payment Innovation and Public Policy Responses
PDFPanel Discussion
PDFGeneral Discussion

Moderator:
PDFChris Bierbaum
General Manager, Mobile Commerce
Sprint Nextel Corporation

Panelists:
PDFNicholas Economides
Professor of Economics, Stern School of Business
New York University

PDFDavid S. Evans
Founder
Market Platform Dynamics

PDFAlan Frankel
Founder
Coherent Economics

PDFBob Lee
Chief Technology Officer
Square

PDFKeynote Address
PDFJoseph Farrell
Director, Bureau of Economics
Federal Trade Commission
PDFKeynote
PDFGeneral Discussion

PDFSession 3: Risk and Privacy Implications of Consumer Payment Innovation in the Connected Age
PDFPaper
PDFCommentary Acquisti
PDFCommentary Hughes
PDFGeneral Discussion

Moderator:
PDFGary Fish
President and Chief Executive Officer
FishNet Security

PDFRoss Anderson
Professor of Security Engineering
University of Cambridge

Discussants:
PDFAlessandro Acquisti
Associate Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy
Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University

PDFSarah Jane Hughes
University Scholar and Fellow in Commercial Law
Indiana University Maurer School of Law

PDFSession 4: Ensuring Commerce Access to the Payments System in the Connected Age
PDFPanel Discussion
PDFGeneral Discussion

Moderator:
 PDFRachel Schneider
Vice President, Innovation and Research
Center for Financial Services Innovation

PDFKevin Morrison
Senior Vice President, Prepaid
U.S. Bank

PDFLouisa M. Quittman
Director, Office of Financial Education
U.S. Department of the Treasury

PDFSteve Streit
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Green Dot Corporation

PDFSession 5: Facilitating Consumer Payment Innovation through Changes in Clearing and Settlement
PDFPaper
PDFCommentary Mabott
PDFCommentary Platt
PDFGeneral Discussion

Moderator:
PDFMichael Brown
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Euronet Worldwide

Author:
PDFBruce J. Summers
Former Director
Federal Reserve Information Technology

Discussants:
PDFRichard Mabbott
Director, Major Projects
Faster Payments Scheme Limited

PDFNeil Platt
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Payments, Fiserv/CashEdge

PDFSession 6: Perspectives on the Role of Public Policy in Facilitating Payment Innovation
PDFPanel Discussion
PDFGeneral Discussion

Moderator:
PDFSean O'Connor
Adviser, Payments System Development Group
World Bank

Panelists:
PDFMalcolm Edey
Assistant Governor
Reserve Bank of Australia

PDFGerard B.J. Hartsink
Chairman
European Payments Council

PDFRicardo Medina
Director of Payment Systems
Bank of Mexico

PDFM.J. Moltenbrey
Partner
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

PDFConference Attendees