The United States Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is set to host a hearing on ”The Digitization of Money and Payments. Not much of the details have been released on the meeting yet.
Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo, Paxos co-founder and CEO Charles Cascarilla and Duke University Visiting Professor of Law Nakita Cuttino, have reportedly suggested that the focus may center in part around central bank digital currencies and stablecoins.
It is understood that the hearing might see a similar discussion as the one hosted by a subcommittee with the House Financial Services Committee, which addressed questions of financial inclusion and how best to send relief funds to U.S. residents quickly and efficiently, coindesk.com reports.
The report also said that Cuttino, in pre-written opening remarks, said while some U.S. residents might turn to digital banking and payment systems, “low-income Americans disproportionately prefer to transact with bank tellers.”
However, it should be understood that digital systems have their own drawbacks. Not every American has a smartphone, limiting their access to digital banking services. Cuttino, meanwhile, raised questions about the business models for central bank digital currencies and stablecoins.
“If services are ‘free’, what alternative tradeoffs are consumers making (e.g., consumer data)? Is consumer data being used to exploit behavioral weaknesses to their detriment? Additionally, are consumer conditions improved by a shift to the novel solution? Ultimately, fintech solutions should not merely move the most Americans from the fringe financial marketplace to a fringe digital economy,” Cuttino says.
