US Federal Reserve to Host October Conference on Payments Innovation, Digital Assets

The U.S. Federal Reserve will hold a payments innovation conference on Tuesday, October 21, in Washington, D.C., bringing together banks, businesses, and technology firms to discuss the future of financial transactions. The event, announced on Wednesday, will explore how new technologies are reshaping payments, from decentralised finance and stablecoin adoption to tokenisation and artificial intelligence.

According to the Fed, the conference will feature multiple panel discussions focused on how traditional finance is converging with emerging systems. Topics will include the business use cases for stablecoins, the role of AI in streamlining payments, and the opportunities and risks tied to digitizing financial products. The sessions will be livestreamed on the Federal Reserve’s website, with additional details to be released in the coming weeks.

Governor Christopher J. Waller highlighted the importance of keeping pace with rapid change. “Innovation has been a constant in payments to meet the changing needs of consumers and businesses,” he said, stressing that the Fed is interested in both the benefits and challenges that come with new technologies.

The Federal Reserve has already taken steps toward modernising payments. Its FedNow service, launched in July 2023, now processes about $2.7 billion daily across roughly 1,400 banks. The Fed also oversees the Fedwire Funds Service and co-manages the ACH network alongside The Clearing House.

Waller has been outspoken on digital assets as well. Just last month, he compared paying with stablecoins via smart contracts to the familiar experience of swiping a debit card. He argued that innovations such as tokenisation and distributed ledgers should be viewed as natural extensions of existing payment tools rather than radical departures.

He also emphasised that closer collaboration with the private sector is crucial. “It is my belief that the Federal Reserve could benefit from further engagement with innovators in industry,” Waller said, pointing to stablecoins as a clear example of how market-led innovation can produce new solutions in the payments landscape.