Key Takeaways from the ACI Emerging Payments Forum

On March 31 and April 1, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP sponsored the ACI Emerging Payments Forum in Chicago, IL, where leading industry experts and senior regulatory officials met to address the evolving legal, regulatory and enforcement landscape of emerging payment systems.  DWT partner and lead of the DWT Emerging and Prepaid Payments Practice, Andy Lorentz, co-chaired the conference and underscored the importance of collaborative dialogue between the Fintech industry and regulators to foster innovation while complying with consumer protection and safety and soundness principles.  The event provided a lively platform for such interchange, beginning with the opening Master Class bright and early at 7:30 a.m.  on the first day of the conference. DWT payments team members Tom Scanlon and Monami Chakrabarti attended the conference. The forum featured eight panel discussions with industry participants from Uber, Citigroup, Silicon Valley Bank, Klarna, Western Union, PayPal and Payoneer, among other companies. From the regulatory and law enforcement side, the OCC, OFAC, DOJ and state regulators from California, Washington, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and New Hampshire presented areas of concern from enforcement and compliance standpoints.  The panelists discussed key issues such as the harmonization of regulatory standards for banks and alternative payment providers, the possibility of developing an “agile” regulatory framework for emerging companies and the adaptation of blockchain technology to payments.  Other topics included state money transmitter licensing standards, UDAAP compliance, AML and fraud deterrence, cybersecurity and data protection, and cross-border challenges associated with successfully operating emerging payments companies on the global stage.