ETA forum targets fraud, AI and stablecoin policy

Fraud, artificial intelligence and stablecoins were among the issues bringing payments executives, policymakers, regulators and other financial services professionals together Sept. 17, 2026, for the Electronic Transactions Association's Fintech Policy Forum in Washington, D.C.

ETA's flagship policy event brought representatives from more than 60 organizations together to examine financial innovation and the public policies surrounding it. Discussions ranged from fraud and identity threats to AI, digital assets, open banking and other issues confronting the payments industry and policymakers.

Fighting fraud on two fronts

Fraudsters and scammers have become smarter and more brazen. "Increasingly, they have powerful technologies at their disposal," Jodie Kelley, ETA's CEO, said in kicking off the forum.

That makes it incumbent upon the payments industry and government to take bold steps. Kelley and others who addressed the forum made it a point to distinguish between fraud and scams. Fraud attacks transactions and the networks that carry them. Scams attack individuals.

The first step: provide consumers with educational tools that can help them identify scams. Consumers lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams last year, Kelley noted. That's three times more than was reported five years ago. The operative word here is "reported," as many consumers fail to report falling prey to scams due to embarrassment or similar reasons.

Another, related, step: aggressively go after the money that has been stolen and make the victims whole. "That's where I think the policy discussion needs to go," Kelley said.

"This is a whole of society problem," said Brian Wemple of the House Financial Services Committee. It needs to be addressed by the financial sector but also by non-financial firms, such as social media companies. Wemple also pointed to legislation that would increase federal coordination to combat and keep track of fraud.

Staying ahead of the AI curve

Much of the conversation at the forum focused on AI and how the technology is used by and against the financial sector. "The amount of time [available] to fight fraud has gone from a decent amount to basically none," said Jason Kratovil, head of public policy and external affairs at SentiLink.

"AI is really accelerating things," added Rupali Pardasani, global head of financial crime compliance at FIS.

"I do worry a lot about this," said Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill. Foster, ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, earlier this month introduced the Strengthening Oversight for the Financial Sector Act, which would give the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency authority to oversee third-party vendors used by entities they regulate. Other financial services regulators already have this authority.

"As AI makes cyberattacks more sophisticated, it is even more important to ensure that third-party vendors don't become a weak link in our financial system," Foster said in introducing the legislation.

Foster has also teamed up with Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, on bipartisan legislation addressing identity fraud and theft. At the forum, Foster said government-approved secure digital IDs could go a long way toward thwarting fraudsters and scammers, but added that worldwide standards are needed for this to become a working reality.

None of the pending legislation discussed has much chance of passage in the current session of Congress, as the House is now in recess until after the November elections.

Digital tokens — a GENIUS idea

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act was also addressed at the forum. Signed into law last year, the GENIUS Act creates rules for companies that issue stablecoins — digital assets designed to maintain a stable value, most commonly relative to the U.S. dollar.

"Stablecoins can do things that traditional bank deposits cannot," explained David Trecker, head of digital asset strategy at FIS.

When it comes to stablecoins, "the network effect is key," said Angelo Aratan, head of Web3 solutions, partnerships and research at Kinexys by J.P. Morgan.

"Payers want ubiquity," Trecker added. "The challenge for the industry is how to take multiple networks representing multiple groups and make it bank grade."

To that end, regulations are needed to implement the GENIUS Act, and representatives from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Reserve said work on that front is well underway. Expect final rules from the Fed this fall with implementation in January 2027, said Alison Boller, a senior policy analyst at the Fed.

The day's discussions underscored a common challenge for policymakers and payments companies: technology continues to change how money moves while also changing the risks surrounding it. Whether confronting AI-enabled fraud or developing rules for emerging payment technologies such as stablecoins, speakers repeatedly returned to the need for industry and government to keep pace with that change.

Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact information, links and other details may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.