The annual Chicago Payments Symposium is always a thought-provoking event – and this year’s Symposium in early October was no exception. For the first time in two years, payments industry leaders could choose to attend in person for engaging networking with their peers or join virtual sessions to stay tuned in at their convenience. The 2022 theme was Building Customer-Centric and Adaptive Networks (Off-site). A few key takeaways from the event:
Instant payments are taking off in the U.S.
Payments industry business and consumer adoption of new products and services sometimes takes longer than expected. However, instant payments interest and industry readiness (Off-site) have been boosted by the impending arrival of the FedNowSM Service’s initial launch in mid-2023. Federal Reserve surveys of both U.S. businesses and reporters show a strong appetite for instant payments. Mainstream and emerging use cases provide ample opportunities to innovate and enhance the instant payments customer experience.
Innovation accelerates
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and CEO Loretta Mester discussed payments modernization trends, such as increased activity by both traditional providers and fintech firms to offer products that are more convenient for customers and address longstanding payment system frictions. Panelists in other sessions cited plentiful payments innovation opportunities, from identity and security solutions to central bank digital currencies.
Digital payments, global progress
Cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies are a highly visible part of the brave new payments world and would benefit from better identity services, data privacy safeguards, education and regulatory progress across geographies. Likewise, panelists suggested that greater interlinkages of domestic payments programs in various countries could benefit global payments interoperability, speed and security.
Read the full recap article here (Off-site) to learn more about this year’s event.
