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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Personal Financial Data Rights rule 1033, announced in late October, officially begins the countdown to an era of US Open Banking. By 2026, the top tier of large banks and credit unions will be required to open their APIs and share data with third-party companies. This mandate will apply to all US banks and credit unions with at least $850 million in assets by April 2030.

As financial institutions face evolving payment demands, they often implement payment hubs to streamline services such as ISO20022-compliant wire processing or new instant payment rails like RTP and FedNow.

In today's fast-paced financial services environment, core modernization is no longer just a buzzword but a critical factor for the strategic growth of financial institutions. As institutions look towards core modernization, the "nice-to-have" sidecar core solutions that were once considered niche have now reached the mainstream and drive strategic discussions among fintechs, banks, and credit unions of all sizes. The future of banking is being reshaped, and core modernization is at the heart of the conversation.

We are heading into the height of industry conference season. One of my favorites is the Association for Financial Professionals’ annual conference. This year’s event, AFP2024, will take place in Nashville from October 20-23, and I’m honored to be moderating a panel on Request for Payment alongside colleagues from Netflix, US Bank, and The Clearing House.

Roughly a week ago, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, calling into question how they retained and gained its debit card market share in the post-Durbin era. The DOJ has alleged that Visa created a “web of unlawful anti-competitive agreements to penalize” financial institutions, merchants and processors for using competing payment networks. In addition, the DOJ suspects the card network used its monopoly power to squash innovative and potentially lower cost debit alternatives by companies such as Apple, PayPal, and Block. But what could this lawsuit mean for the payments industry moving forward?

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI tools like ChatGPT, is ushering in a new era of financial fraud. Malicious actors are leveraging these technologies to craft more convincing and sophisticated scams, putting consumers and institutions at greater risk than ever.

Although instant payments have been available in the United States since 2017 – via The Clearing House’s RTP rails – many in the industry treated last month as their first anniversary. That’s because in July 2023, the Federal Reserve launched its FedNow service, kicking off market competition in earnest.

With success comes additional scrutiny. A recent Federal Reserve survey indicates that three-quarters of Americans are familiar with Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, and nearly 10% had accepted such a deferred payment offer in the past 30 days. A modernized take on installment lending for the digital age, BNPL's rapid rise has attracted the attention of lawmakers, regulators, and companies with various stakes in the payments ecosystem.

The landscape of US financial regulation is continually evolving. At the heart of this transformation is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency tasked with overseeing and enforcing consumer protection laws within the financial sector.

The outlook for the commercial payments market is strong. Volumes are projected to grow at a 14% average annual rate over the next five years, offering a prime opportunity for financial institutions to drive margin and deepen corporate customer relationships amid an uncertain economic environment marked by margin pressures and increasing regulatory headwinds.