Apple, Amazon, Google, others join forces in finance technology lobby

Posted:
in General Discussion edited November 2015
Tech giants Apple, Amazon, Google, PayPal and Intuit on Tuesday announced the formation of Financial Innovation Now, a financial services lobby that seeks to steer Washington policy as new technologies emerge.




One of the group's goals is to inure pols to a quickly approaching evolution in finance, a change spurred on by new technology coming out of Silicon Valley. Apple has Apple Pay, for example, while Google offers a competing solution in Android Pay. PayPal, one of the first to jumpstart the burgeoning sector, recently stepped into mobile payments with the purchase of Venmo.

"A technological transformation is going to make financial services more accessible, more affordable and more secure," said Brian Peters, executive director of Financial Innovation Now. "The challenge in Washington is making sure policymakers understand that, and they're comfortable with it, and they don't apply old rules to new technology."

It's not all about mobile payments, however, as Financial Innovation Now also seeks to enable real-time payments clearing processes, streamline rules for online lending, create open authentication protocols and push Internet-connected financial apps.

Other issues of interest include fraud prevention, increased consumer convenience at lower costs and the democratization of payment technologies. On the latter, the group notes over two billion people worldwide go without basic financial services, including some ten million households in the U.S. alone. By harnessing the Internet, mobile platforms and other modern technologies, the coalition believes it can help underserved populations.

Perhaps most important for founding members like Apple are initiatives to foster trust in emerging payment platforms. The group contends open security and fraud reduction standards can greatly enhance consumer protection and drive innovation.

In general, Financial Innovation Now seeks to shift thinking from old time brick-and-mortar systems to modern solutions that live in smartphones, the cloud and beyond.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    These companies need to band together to demand tax reform to retain US businesses by lowering tax rates across the board and drastically simplifying the tax code (the FairTax would do nicely).
  • Reply 2 of 9
    mubailimubaili Posts: 453member
    Translation: more smart way to scam other peoples money
  • Reply 3 of 9
    These companies need to band together to demand tax reform to retain US businesses by lowering tax rates across the board and drastically simplifying the tax code (the FairTax would do nicely).

    Tax reform, yes.

    "FairTax"? No. Sounds bogus.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    mubaili wrote: »
    Translation: more smart way to scam other peoples money

    Lack of self-control on your (and your ilk's) part does not constitute a problem on our part.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    Tax reform, yes.

    "FairTax"? No. Sounds bogus.

    www.FairTax.org
  • Reply 6 of 9
    Tax reform, yes.

    www.FairTax.org

    Thanks. I've already seen it and read it (from the last time you provided the link).

    In any event, it has a snowball's chance in hell of coming to fruition.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    Thanks. I've already seen it and read it (from the last time you provided the link).

    In any event, it has a snowball's chance in hell of coming to fruition.

    Maybe. With a Republican Congress and a Republican president the odds would be better, however time and tide prove one thing again and again and that is that people always act in self-interest and people in positions of power are not to be trusted...ever.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    Maybe. With a Republican Congress and a Republican president the odds would be better, however time and tide prove one thing again and again and that is that people always act in self-interest and people in positions of power are not to be trusted...ever.



    haha! even more ludicrous after having seen the debate. the only things republicans are good for is lining their own pocketbooks. it's astounding to me that they're touting themselves as the fiscally conservative party when they wouldn't conceive of running their private businesses like they run this government. democrats aren't much different. 

  • Reply 9 of 9
    mac_dog wrote: »

    haha! even more ludicrous after having seen the debate. the only things republicans are good for is lining their own pocketbooks. it's astounding to me that they're touting themselves as the fiscally conservative party when they wouldn't conceive of running their private businesses like they run this government. democrats aren't much different. 

    That's right. Democrats are no different. The interests they pander to are sometimes different, but each party is mainly concerned with their own interests first. Neither are to be trusted.
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