As the fall 2022 conference season wraps up, we look back at engagement with industry colleagues at events and conferences spanning the globe. These events are great opportunities to learn more about Federal Reserve Financial Services, hear from insightful speakers and make valuable new connections. Fed representatives are always enthusiastic to speak with customers about our financial services and advancing the payment system for all.
Sibos 2022
Sibos (Off-site) brought together more than 10,000 participants in Amsterdam and online, as the conference returned in person for the first time in three years. The conference agenda centered on “Progressive finance for a changing world,” with more than 250 expert speakers debating major industry topics, including embracing the digital landscape, succeeding in uncertain times and driving sustainability and ethics. Speakers from across the financial ecosystem discussed recognizing the need to embrace digital transformation, successfully navigate new risks and drive sustainability and ethical change. Attendees showed great interest in the potential to link the various domestic instant payment rails to facilitate cross-border payments.
Nick Stanescu, senior vice president and FedNowSM Service business executive, joined Sibos TV to talk about the new FedNow Service, a round-the-clock instant payment and settlement service to be launched next year. Stanescu spoke about how it will encourage broader adoption of instant payments in the U.S. and how financial institutions are preparing for — and progressing toward — the launch of the service. Watch the full interview (Off-site).
Money 20/20
Financial and technology professionals from around the globe gathered at Money 20/20 (Off-site) to engage on the latest trends and ideas shaping the future of fintech. Throughout the conference, attendees connected with the Federal Reserve on its strategic payments initiatives, including the approaching launch of the FedNow Service (Off-site) and its impact on the broader payments landscape. Highlights from the Federal Reserve’s activities included the following.
Ask the Fed with Governor Christopher Waller
During a one-on-one interview session with Governor Christopher Waller of the Federal Reserve Board, attendees heard his perspective on digital innovation, payments evolution and the future of the U.S. financial landscape. Gov. Waller emphasized the industry’s widespread enthusiasm about the FedNow Service, noting how future instant payment innovation will rely heavily on collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs.
FedNow Service live demonstrations
Conference attendees were among the first to see test transactions sent over a pilot version of the FedNow Service during highly attended demos led by the FedNow Service team. These live demonstrations allowed conference-goers to visualize the new instant payments rail and underscored the progress made to date on the service’s development.
Federal Reserve roundtables
Engaged experts from across the industry had an opportunity to participate in Federal Reserve-hosted roundtables on a variety of topics, including FedNow Service Request for Payment (RFP), Fedwire® Funds Service Expanded Hours and Building the Future Payment Frontier. During these meetings, participants heard about the Federal Reserve’s progress in these areas and shared their insights on the future of payments.
A broader conversation
Among numerous conversations between the Federal Reserve and industry stakeholders throughout the event, instant payments use cases were hot topics and discussion drivers. Namely, attendees emphasized a need for instant request for payment, bill payment and merchant refunds. Fraud prevention and mitigation were also top of mind for many, including the importance of identity verification and authentication solutions. Finally, conversations included the significance of ISO® 20022 messaging to the evolution of domestic and cross-border fund transfers.
Action Item:
Check out the Industry Events page for more information on the Federal Reserve Banks’ upcoming local, regional and international events. To learn more about additional events where Fed experts will be speaking, visit the FedPayments Improvement Events (Off-site) page.
Note: The Federal Reserve Banks do not sponsor or endorse any non-Federal Reserve Bank-related products, parties or entities discussed in this publication.
