Four members of the House of Representatives formed a bipartisan committee known as the Congressional Payments Technology Caucus (CPTC) announcing the new group on March 19th. The group’s focus is to serve as a key resource of information for any discussions on future legislation around payment-centric topics such as data security, new payment technologies and access to electronic payments for the underbanked.
Lawmakers don’t have the best track record when it comes to regulations and legislations around payment related issues, with unintended consequences following the Durbin Amendment serving as one example. In hopes to help lawmakers better understand the payment issues at hand four members of the House of Representatives formed the Congressional Payments Technology Caucus.
The founding members of the caucus are Representatives Lynn Westmoreland R-Ga., Randy Neugebauer R-Tex., David Scott R-Ga., and Krysten Sinema D-Ariz. Rep. Westmoreland elaborated on the duties of the newly formed group saying that they will keep Congress informed on payment technology and payment issues, as well as serve as a forum for discussing and answering key questions related to legislative proposals.
It is likely no coincidence that two House members from Georgia are on the committee as Rep. Scott commented that “most electronic transactions in the U.S. pass through Georgia-based companies.” Fiserv Inc., TSYS, Elavon and Globaly Payments Inc. are just a handful of payment processing companies with a major presence in the state.
There is little information about the newly formed CPTC available at this stage, and while they have provided an introduction to the types of issues and discussions they want to tackle there have been no details on specific investigations or areas of interest. However, the payments-focused group will work with the House Financial Services Committee and has already garnered support from payment industries groups such as the ETA.
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