NACHA's Global Payments Forum Announces Release of White Paper: What Will the Role of Bank Accounts Be as Payments Evolve?

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NACHA, The Electronic Payments Association's Global Payments Forum (GPF),  today announced the release of a new white paper titled, What Will the Role of Bank Accounts Be as Payments Evolve. The white paper, which discusses the effect global payments convergence, alternative accounts, mobile payments, account switching, and real-time payments will have on the future of the bank account, will be one of the topics discussed at the GPF Meeting to be held October 17-18 at the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) offices in New York.

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The white paper addresses the recently trending notion that banks are often conservative, risk adverse, and out of touch with youth and asks several thought-provoking questions geared towards financial institutions. In-depth analysis is provided around a variety of topics including:

• evolution of payments habits and the electronification of global commerce;
• alternatives to the bank account including mobile payments and cryptocurrencies;
• lowering barriers to the unbanked and underbanked;
• the opportunities and dangers associated with payments convergence; and
• how real-time payments systems affect financial institutions.

The white paper also draws a number of conclusions that make a case for the importance of the bank account. Key findings include, but are not limited to, the following:

• As payment behavior changes and traditional bank customers give way to a younger generation, the relationship between a customer and its bank will help secure that banks are relevant;
• The most crucial benefit of real-time systems is that real-time service pushes the bank account into the center of the payment relationship; and
• As some non-bank alternatives inevitably fail, consumers are more likely than ever to trust bank-offered solutions over those in the non-bank space.

The "Role of the Bank Account and the Future of Payments" session, which will be led by Leo Lipis, Managing Director, Lipis & Lipis, who assisted with the development of the white paper, will be an opportunity for the industry to discuss and debate the paper's premise, themes and conclusions.

"We're excited to be able to provide financial institutions with a global look at the state of payments and how to ensure the bank account remains central in a rapidly evolving space," said Samantha Carrier, Senior Director, Advanced Payment Solutions & International Programs at NACHA. "The GPF Meeting and the paper serve as an excellent opportunity to engage the industry in a conversation to help determine best ways to innovate and evolve, while keeping the bank account at the center of payments."

In addition to the "Role of the Bank Account and the Future of Payments" session, the GPF Meeting will feature agenda topics including:

• "The 2013 World Payments Report," featuring Teresa Connors, RBS and Deborah Baxley, Capgemini;
• "Digital Currency: The Evolution of Currency and the MintChip Project in Canada," featuring Marc Brule, Royal Canadian Mint;
• "SEPA – How Will the Story End?" featuring Michael Steinbach, CEO, Equenz and Edith Rigler, Consultant;
• "Regulatory Trends," featuring Rebecca Smullin, CFPB and Deborah Thoren-Peden, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; and
• "The Future of Cash and Cash-Based Payment," featuring Karen Webster, Market Platform Dynamics.

GPF Meetings offer an interactive environment of knowledge exchange, where members and guests are able to discuss global payments issues, trends, regulatory activity and technology solutions. For more information and to apply for membership or registration, visit https://gpf.nacha.org/MeetingInformation. Meeting sessions are closed to members of the media, but media can be granted advance access to speakers for interviews. To request an interview with meeting speakers, email [email protected].

About the Global Payments Forum (GPF)
The Global Payments Forum (GPF) is the industry's strategic global roundtable, generating vision and leading innovative global payment advancements through effective information exchange and member collaboration. Comprised of senior-level payments executives who support global payments in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia/Pacific the Forum identifies, develops, and drives strategic international electronic payments initiatives and serves as a voice for the banking industry on cross-border payments issues. For more information, visit https://gpf.nacha.org.

NACHA — The Electronic Payments Association
NACHA manages the development, administration, and governance of the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data. The ACH Network provides a safe, secure, and reliable network for direct account-to-account consumer, business, and government payments. Annually, it facilitates billions of Direct Deposit via ACH and Direct Payment via ACH transactions. Used by all types of financial institutions, the ACH Network is governed by the fair and equitable NACHA Operating Rules, which guide risk management and create payment certainty for all participants. As a not-for-profit association, NACHA represents more than 10,000 financial institutions via 17 regional payments associations and direct membership. Through its industry councils and forums, NACHA brings together payments system stakeholders to foster dialogue and innovation to strengthen the ACH Network. To learn more, please visit http://www.nacha.org, http://www.electronicpayments.org, http://www.payitgreen.org, and http://direct.nacha.org.

Contact: NACHA
703-561-3952
[email protected]

SOURCE NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association