Global payments conference P20 reveals plans to promote payment industry growth

 

P20, the global initiative representing the interests of over 100 payment industry businesses in the US, UK and beyond held its inaugural  meeting at Lancaster House in London yesterday.

Jack Lew, United States Secretary of the Treasury 2013-2017, Stephen Barclay, MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bruce Lowthers, Conference Chairman and Payments President at FIS and Alistair Lukies, the Prime Minister’s Business Ambassador for FinTech, UK Trade & Investment were among the global leaders who gathered to discuss the main themes at the conference.

With its vision of making payments accessible, affordable and secure for all, the P20 Board set out its mission charter addressing regulation, innovation, cybersecurity, and financial inclusion. The conference’s outcome statements, which will be used to set progress targets ahead of the 2018 Atlanta conference, are:

  • The P20 recognizes the value of full and appropriate “Identity Verification” (KYC and AML) being undertaken when a potential client initiates a new relationship with a Financial Institution. However, the level and diversity of identity verification in the developed world has created a procedure that has become far more onerous and complex for consumers than is required to achieve the KYC goal. The P20 will work with its members and interested parties to advocate a KYC framework that is considered by Regulated Financial Institutions, Regulators, and Government.
  • The P20 recognizes the role its members play in securely moving money, assessing risk, and reducing fraud. A P20 sub-group will work in collaboration with US and UK governments to establish a ‘NORAD’ for payments, helping harden and secure national infrastructure against external attack.
  • Innovation in technology and business models provide consumers with ever greater and affordable access to Payment Infrastructure as a means of helping lift individuals out of poverty. To further this goal, P20 offers a substantial award for what it considers to be the best project for Financial Inclusion. The award will be presented at the 2018 Meeting in Atlanta.

P20 Board members in attendance included American Express, the ATPC, Barclays, China UnionPay, Discover, Elavon, First Data, FIS, Fiserv, Hogan Lovells, Holland & Knight, Incomm, Ingenico, JP Morgan Chase, MasterCard, Paysafe, P20, TSYS, Vantiv, Visa and Worldpay. Board Observers included Holland and Knight, Innovate Finance, UK Conservative FinTech Working Group, UK Department for International Trade, UK HM Treasury, US department of the Treasury and US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In total the conference welcomed 140 senior leaders representing UK and US government agencies and offices, industry advocacy groups, academia and payments industry executives.

Peter Radcliffe, Chairman of P20, comments: “After a successful inaugural meeting, we are now charged to deliver progress on the vision statement. The scale of our ambition is only possible through the collaboration with our board members and payment stakeholders. In the coming year we will address the improvement of regulation, innovation, cybersecurity, education and financial inclusion on a global scale. We will also look to develop our network further ahead of the P20 conference in Atlanta in 2018, building on the success of this year’s London conference.

“I would like to thank our global sponsors again; China UnionPay, FIS, Hogan Lovells, Holland and Knight, MasterCard and Visa. And I especially want to thank Bruce Lowthers, President of Payments at FIS, who chaired the conference and will do so again in Atlanta 2018.”

Bruce Lowthers, P20 Conference Chairman, comments: “For the global payments industry, the inaugural P20 conference was a memorable and productive day. I hope to drive this collaboration forward as Chair for the second conference in Atlanta 2018. I’d like to thank Peter Radcliffe, Chairman of P20, for the opportunity and, together with the conference sponsors and Board members, we want to thank all of the conference delegates.”

Stephen Barclay, MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, comments: “The meeting showcased the important collaboration between the UK and US on financial payments, and the transatlantic opportunities for UK businesses which arise from this.

“As we look ahead to 2018, I welcome the agreement made today by the P20 board to explore further opportunities.”

Jack Lew, United States Secretary of the Treasury 2013-2017, comments: “It is clear to me that the future for disruptive innovation in financial services is positive, if we embrace new standards and work together with a uniform approach. We need to allow innovation and investment to flourish while we improve stability and confidence. By working together, the US and the UK can take steps towards the harmonization of the global financial sector.”

 

About London

London is the financial services capital of the world and dominates payments in Europe. London boasts nearly 40,000 Financial Services companies employing more than 60,000 workers in the Fintech sector alone; a large portion of which support the payments industry.

About Atlanta

Atlanta is the payments capital of the U.S, processing 75 percent of $7.4 trillion in annual payments while employing the lion’s share of the FinTech workforce of nearly 40,000.

About P20

  • Has been formed to establish the goals and strategy for the Payments industry
  • Highlighting both London’s and Atlanta’s success in payments will help to further burnish London as the continued definitive financial capital of the world and Atlanta as the payments capital of the U.S.
  • Collaborating will promote policies and economic development opportunities that provide honest, secure and reliable payments to the rest of the world – a vital step in helping to lift many places in the world out of poverty.
  • The P20 will serve to open a vital and expandable London/Atlanta Transatlantic corridor that will provide numerous collateral benefits to both cities and nations.
  • P20 will help drive future growth: payments processors on both sides of the Atlantic have grown by 10X in the last 15 years, working together to carry payments to the rest of the world presents a clear opportunity to grow the industries by 20X or 30X, inuring to the benefit of both citizens and shareholders.