The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has published a policy brief on the issues the association is focusing on to advance innovations in financial services. The FTA represents many different types of Fintechs with names like PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Chime, and other well-known names on the Board of Directors.
FTA President and CEO Penny Lee said Fintech is helping more than eight out of ten Americans with better financial services.
“As our lives become more digital, we need to modernize our financial policies and regulations so that even more consumers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs can benefit from innovation,” stated Lee.
The policy agenda states that the US must remain at the forefront of Fintech innovation, and current regulatory and legal frameworks were designed for legacy institutions and must be updated to enable innovation.
“Consumers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs will benefit if the next generation of innovators has clarity on the multiple avenues available to innovate in a responsible manner.”
Recommended actions include:
- Support a modern, robust consumer privacy regime
- Allow companies to innovate safely through sandbox and pilot programs, no-action relief, tech sprints, and related regulatory tools.
- Consistent and harmonized state and federal regulatory frameworks
- Give payments Fintechs direct access to the national payments system, including FedNow.
- And more.
Recent recriminations from certain policymakers pertaining to Fintechs indicate that common-sense policy addressing the need to boost innovative financial solutions is not a foregone conclusion.
The document is available here.