Listen: U.S. regulations for open banking, digital wallets
Curve CEO on how banks can prep their platforms for compliance
Digital wallet providers are creating customer-centric experiences as more clients desire open banking with control over their finances.
In this episode of “The Buzz” podcast, Curve U.S. Chief Executive Amanda Orson discusses what consumers want at the center of their financial universe amid lacking U.S. open-banking regulations.
Banks can get ahead of regulatory scrutiny by implementing compliance measures through enhanced security and authentication efforts, Orson says.
“We have lots and lots of providers in the United States that are trying to enable an open-banking type policy, but we don’t have open banking in the way they do in the United Kingdom,” she said.
Listen as Orson discusses the Curve U.S. digital wallet and where regulations stand for open banking in the U.S. compared to Europe.
Bank Automation Summit US 2023, March 2-3 in Charlotte, is a crucial event on automation technology in banking and will feature a fireside chat with Brinda Bhattacharjee of Goldman Sachs & Co. Register here. Learn more and register for Bank Automation Summit US 2023.
Subscribe to The Buzz Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google podcasts, or download the episode.
The following is a transcript generated by AI technology that has been lightly edited but still contains errors.
Hello and welcome to The Buzz a Bank Automation News podcast. My name is Whitney McDonald and I’m the deputy editor for bank automation news. Joining me today is Amanda Orson CEO of Curve US. She’s here to discuss the evolution of the digital wallet and where regulations stand for open banking in the US compared to Europe.
Sure, my name is Amanda Orson, I am the CEO of curve us curve is the American expansion. For an existing FinTech headquartered in London. We are a payments card with one smart app that allows you to interact with your debit and credit cards with one point of contact. digital wallets are usually phone based. Although if you go back to the very beginning, you could have called PayPal a digital wallet, it is an electronic means upholding the normal payment vehicles. Now traditionally, we think about payment vehicles like debit card or credit card. Obviously, that’s becoming a little bit more differentiated over time as we have things like for example, virtual cards, or crypto and then also Fiat. So the concept of digital wallet is becoming as inclusive as the consumers wallet is continuing to expand. But it’s essentially one place where the consumer is able to interact with all of these payment vehicles.Whitney McDonald 1:24
Now, can you talk me through a little bit where digital wallets fit in? To the open banking discussion? Can we talk through that?
Amanda Orson 1:33
Yeah, absolutely. So digital wallets rely and can be expanded upon by open banking. Open banking, for those that aren’t familiar is essentially a pathway by API’s and strong consumer authentication for consumers to be able to see, potentially to send their currency from one to another, or to see in one place, the different kinds of accounts that they’re currently engaged in. It obviously boobs, a digital wallet to provide the most inclusive consumer experience. And we have lots and lots of providers in the United States that are trying to enable sort of an open banking type policy or a type of experience for the consumer. But we don’t yet have open banking in the way that they do, say, in the United Kingdom via PSD to, I think the most important thing is just to acknowledge that consumers don’t know that they want open banking, but they want open banking, right? What we need to do to serve consumers, regardless of where you are in the financial ecosystem, is to help enable the consumer actually wants because it will eventually come back around, it’s like karma, it’s gonna come back around and serve you. So the more that you can do to help that consumer See, send, you know, be able to engage with their currency or their, their financial instruments, their financial vehicles, wherever it is, the better.
Whitney McDonald 3:09
I think that’s a great pivot to talk through where we do stand in the US with open banking, given your experience and global, the background from a global perspective. Can you talk through where the US stands right now?
Amanda Orson 3:22
It’s not in the United States, it’s not fully implemented, not like we see abroad. I think the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did release a proposal for a consumer authorized financial data sharing and aggregation policy that, you know, basically would give the consumer more control over who can see, and can all of this be put into one place, but it’s not yet there. And in part, it’s not yet there, because we have a much, much more complex regulatory system and a lot more incumbents and a much more diverse array of financial services than a lot of the other countries in the world. So we’re not there yet. It’s not because consumers don’t want it. It’s because getting anything shipped in the United States requires sort of weeding through this patchwork quilt of regulation, not just at the federal level, but even at the State Ag level.
Whitney McDonald 4:13
Now, can you talk through how how we can get to a place whether it’s easing into it, or what banks or financial institutions can start to implement in order to get to this point of maintaining compliance while getting into the open banking realm, whether it’s data sharing or privacy compliance?
Amanda Orson 4:34
Sure, you definitely want to think about really strong consumer authentication, that’s going to be very key. usually more than one point. When you’re thinking about who you want to partner with to actually enable something that’s going to provide that consumer experience on the back end. What are the drivers? Is it coming from the consumer? Is it coming from you? Do you want to have interoperability with them? Say a budgeting tool like a mentor a wine out or Personal Capital or your consumers driving it because they’re requesting the ability to see something in a in a centrally held digital wallet, as you’re walking through the different partners that you might actually engage with their do be thinking about their compliance, do you take a look at their history of I’m trying to think of the word for sock to but basically like do, do you make sure that you trust this partner and that you’ve authenticated this partners ability to provide this service? Stay abreast of the difference in privacy laws, we’re seeing a rapid expansion of privacy laws at the state level. So it’s probably not as relevant if most of your consumers are from a local region, and you’re a regional bank. But when you think about things at the national level, that you definitely want to keep abreast of what’s happening in California and CCPA. And I know that there are some other GDPR like laws coming up. I’m not an attorney or a privacy attorney specifically, but you do want to stay stay on top of that.
Whitney McDonald 6:09
Yeah, staying on top of those compliance, regular those regulations that are coming, of course, we’re getting some buzz about the CFPB and a new open banking rule. So staying on top of those for sure. Talking a little bit about the the global background that you have in the UK curve expanding into the US can you talk through what that expansion has looked like and what curve is experiencing there?
Amanda Orson 6:33
Sure. So curve has been around for almost eight years abroad. And in the United Kingdom, where we’re headquartered in the EEA, or the European continent and the United Kingdom, post Brexit, we’re basically one card that allows you to put all of your debit and credit cards behind it, and then have one point of access. So the net is that you have the ability to travel everywhere, and the consumer can see everything, all their payments in one feed. So there are a lot of applications here from an open banking perspective, but have one point of contact that allows you to gain efficiencies from like XPS. By being able to move money around using your go back in time, technology, etc. Here, it’s a different story. We’re abroad, we’re a debit card, here, we’re a credit card, and we have the abilities. Many but not yet all of the methods of payment that a consumer might require. And from our perspective, it’s the most important thing where we see whitespace in the market is a digital wallet or a financial technology player that is actually radically consumer centric. Historically, our parents or grandparents probably worked with one bank, and that bank gave them their mortgage and their credit card and their, you know, home loan and all the other stuff that you might be thinking about. That’s not the case anymore. The consumer is probably engaged with seven to 10 different financial institutions for seven to 10 Different applications have been in their life, and that’s just the number I’ve pulled out of the Aeron chair, it’s probably much more than that. I think that the consumer wants to be at the center of their financial universe. And that’s fundamentally different with where the world had been maybe 20 to 30 years ago. Right now, I think all of the digital wallets in the space group included are trying to figure out how to serve the consumer in the in the most consumer centric way possible. But the incentives are inherently misaligned when it’s coming from that of one large FYI, who is trying really hard to make sure the consumer engages only with their products. It is also it makes our job challenging and interesting every day.
Whitney McDonald 8:43
Speaking of being involved with several different banks, is there any partnerships or anything on the horizon for curve in the US happening?
Amanda Orson 8:53
Yes, I can’t speak with specifics, but we are talking with several large partners in the US in the United Kingdom. Obviously, we’re partnered with Samsung, and that’s been that’s been news for a really long time on the European continent. We are partnered with Huawei, United States, obviously we’re not. But yeah, we’re we’re in talks right now for a large strategic partnership this year.
Whitney McDonald 9:14
You’ve been listening to the buzz, a bank automation news podcast, please follow us on LinkedIn. And as a reminder, you can rate this podcast on your platform of choice. Thank you for your time and be sure to visit us at Bank automation news.com For more automation news,
Digital wallet providers are creating customer-centric experiences as more clients desire open banking with control over their finances.
In this episode of “The Buzz” podcast, Curve U.S. Chief Executive Amanda Orson discusses what consumers want at the center of their financial universe amid lacking U.S. open-banking regulations.
Banks can get ahead of regulatory scrutiny by implementing compliance measures through enhanced security and authentication efforts, Orson says.
“We have lots and lots of providers in the United States that are trying to enable an open-banking type policy, but we don’t have open banking in the way they do in the United Kingdom,” she said.
Listen as Orson discusses the Curve U.S. digital wallet and where regulations stand for open banking in the U.S. compared to Europe.
Bank Automation Summit US 2023, March 2-3 in Charlotte, is a crucial event on automation technology in banking and will feature a fireside chat with Brinda Bhattacharjee of Goldman Sachs & Co. Register here. Learn more and register for Bank Automation Summit US 2023.
Subscribe to The Buzz Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google podcasts, or download the episode.
The following is a transcript generated by AI technology that has been lightly edited but still contains errors.
Hello and welcome to The Buzz a Bank Automation News podcast. My name is Whitney McDonald and I’m the deputy editor for bank automation news. Joining me today is Amanda Orson CEO of Curve US. She’s here to discuss the evolution of the digital wallet and where regulations stand for open banking in the US compared to Europe.
Sure, my name is Amanda Orson, I am the CEO of curve us curve is the American expansion. For an existing FinTech headquartered in London. We are a payments card with one smart app that allows you to interact with your debit and credit cards with one point of contact. digital wallets are usually phone based. Although if you go back to the very beginning, you could have called PayPal a digital wallet, it is an electronic means upholding the normal payment vehicles. Now traditionally, we think about payment vehicles like debit card or credit card. Obviously, that’s becoming a little bit more differentiated over time as we have things like for example, virtual cards, or crypto and then also Fiat. So the concept of digital wallet is becoming as inclusive as the consumers wallet is continuing to expand. But it’s essentially one place where the consumer is able to interact with all of these payment vehicles.Whitney McDonald 1:24
Now, can you talk me through a little bit where digital wallets fit in? To the open banking discussion? Can we talk through that?
Amanda Orson 1:33
Yeah, absolutely. So digital wallets rely and can be expanded upon by open banking. Open banking, for those that aren’t familiar is essentially a pathway by API’s and strong consumer authentication for consumers to be able to see, potentially to send their currency from one to another, or to see in one place, the different kinds of accounts that they’re currently engaged in. It obviously boobs, a digital wallet to provide the most inclusive consumer experience. And we have lots and lots of providers in the United States that are trying to enable sort of an open banking type policy or a type of experience for the consumer. But we don’t yet have open banking in the way that they do, say, in the United Kingdom via PSD to, I think the most important thing is just to acknowledge that consumers don’t know that they want open banking, but they want open banking, right? What we need to do to serve consumers, regardless of where you are in the financial ecosystem, is to help enable the consumer actually wants because it will eventually come back around, it’s like karma, it’s gonna come back around and serve you. So the more that you can do to help that consumer See, send, you know, be able to engage with their currency or their, their financial instruments, their financial vehicles, wherever it is, the better.
Whitney McDonald 3:09
I think that’s a great pivot to talk through where we do stand in the US with open banking, given your experience and global, the background from a global perspective. Can you talk through where the US stands right now?
Amanda Orson 3:22
It’s not in the United States, it’s not fully implemented, not like we see abroad. I think the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did release a proposal for a consumer authorized financial data sharing and aggregation policy that, you know, basically would give the consumer more control over who can see, and can all of this be put into one place, but it’s not yet there. And in part, it’s not yet there, because we have a much, much more complex regulatory system and a lot more incumbents and a much more diverse array of financial services than a lot of the other countries in the world. So we’re not there yet. It’s not because consumers don’t want it. It’s because getting anything shipped in the United States requires sort of weeding through this patchwork quilt of regulation, not just at the federal level, but even at the State Ag level.
Whitney McDonald 4:13
Now, can you talk through how how we can get to a place whether it’s easing into it, or what banks or financial institutions can start to implement in order to get to this point of maintaining compliance while getting into the open banking realm, whether it’s data sharing or privacy compliance?
Amanda Orson 4:34
Sure, you definitely want to think about really strong consumer authentication, that’s going to be very key. usually more than one point. When you’re thinking about who you want to partner with to actually enable something that’s going to provide that consumer experience on the back end. What are the drivers? Is it coming from the consumer? Is it coming from you? Do you want to have interoperability with them? Say a budgeting tool like a mentor a wine out or Personal Capital or your consumers driving it because they’re requesting the ability to see something in a in a centrally held digital wallet, as you’re walking through the different partners that you might actually engage with their do be thinking about their compliance, do you take a look at their history of I’m trying to think of the word for sock to but basically like do, do you make sure that you trust this partner and that you’ve authenticated this partners ability to provide this service? Stay abreast of the difference in privacy laws, we’re seeing a rapid expansion of privacy laws at the state level. So it’s probably not as relevant if most of your consumers are from a local region, and you’re a regional bank. But when you think about things at the national level, that you definitely want to keep abreast of what’s happening in California and CCPA. And I know that there are some other GDPR like laws coming up. I’m not an attorney or a privacy attorney specifically, but you do want to stay stay on top of that.
Whitney McDonald 6:09
Yeah, staying on top of those compliance, regular those regulations that are coming, of course, we’re getting some buzz about the CFPB and a new open banking rule. So staying on top of those for sure. Talking a little bit about the the global background that you have in the UK curve expanding into the US can you talk through what that expansion has looked like and what curve is experiencing there?
Amanda Orson 6:33
Sure. So curve has been around for almost eight years abroad. And in the United Kingdom, where we’re headquartered in the EEA, or the European continent and the United Kingdom, post Brexit, we’re basically one card that allows you to put all of your debit and credit cards behind it, and then have one point of access. So the net is that you have the ability to travel everywhere, and the consumer can see everything, all their payments in one feed. So there are a lot of applications here from an open banking perspective, but have one point of contact that allows you to gain efficiencies from like XPS. By being able to move money around using your go back in time, technology, etc. Here, it’s a different story. We’re abroad, we’re a debit card, here, we’re a credit card, and we have the abilities. Many but not yet all of the methods of payment that a consumer might require. And from our perspective, it’s the most important thing where we see whitespace in the market is a digital wallet or a financial technology player that is actually radically consumer centric. Historically, our parents or grandparents probably worked with one bank, and that bank gave them their mortgage and their credit card and their, you know, home loan and all the other stuff that you might be thinking about. That’s not the case anymore. The consumer is probably engaged with seven to 10 different financial institutions for seven to 10 Different applications have been in their life, and that’s just the number I’ve pulled out of the Aeron chair, it’s probably much more than that. I think that the consumer wants to be at the center of their financial universe. And that’s fundamentally different with where the world had been maybe 20 to 30 years ago. Right now, I think all of the digital wallets in the space group included are trying to figure out how to serve the consumer in the in the most consumer centric way possible. But the incentives are inherently misaligned when it’s coming from that of one large FYI, who is trying really hard to make sure the consumer engages only with their products. It is also it makes our job challenging and interesting every day.
Whitney McDonald 8:43
Speaking of being involved with several different banks, is there any partnerships or anything on the horizon for curve in the US happening?
Amanda Orson 8:53
Yes, I can’t speak with specifics, but we are talking with several large partners in the US in the United Kingdom. Obviously, we’re partnered with Samsung, and that’s been that’s been news for a really long time on the European continent. We are partnered with Huawei, United States, obviously we’re not. But yeah, we’re we’re in talks right now for a large strategic partnership this year.
Whitney McDonald 9:14
You’ve been listening to the buzz, a bank automation news podcast, please follow us on LinkedIn. And as a reminder, you can rate this podcast on your platform of choice. Thank you for your time and be sure to visit us at Bank automation news.com For more automation news,
