The payments industry stands on the edge of unparalleled payment innovation: mobile wallets, wearables, cloud-based payment cards, tokens and digital cash. What do they all mean and which ones are likely to actually change the way we pay for things?
The banks remain key players in the deployment of major mobile payment solutions and the operation of the rapidly-evolving payments ecosystem, but the upheaval created by new technology entrants such as Apple, Google and Samsung, processing innovators such as Stripe, and P2P providers such as Venmo is profound. Simultaneously, the regulatory environment in the United States for consumer financial services under the Dodd-Frank Act is characterized by ever more prescriptive rules, greater discretion and authority for both federal and state regulators (including the CFPB and states attorneys general), and more high-stakes enforcement actions against financial institutions and their service providers. These trends raise fascinating questions concerning the proper role of regulation as the commercial impact of new technology platforms transforms the payments landscape and puts increasing pressure on banks and their relationships with consumers and merchants.*
DWT payments team member Andy Lorentz joined Robert Tibbs (Chairman and CEO, Forbes Digital Commerce) and Paul Miller (CEO, mSIGNIA) for a lively discussion of these issues at an event hosted by NY Tech. View their presentation here.
*Credit: NY Tech