The biennial Workshop on Credit Card Lending and Payments was hosted virtually on September 16‒17, 2020, by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Consumer Finance Institute (CFI), and the Supervisory Research and Policy Forum (SURF).

This year’s workshop included sessions focused on three important topics that are likely to shape the industry over the next few years: financial innovation in payments; the economic effects of COVID-19 on the payments industry and consumers; and the development of ethical and fair AI and machine learning algorithms for financial services.

Below is the agenda and list of speakers for the workshop, along with links to access any available presentation materials and session recordings.

All conference papers can be viewed here.

Session 1: Financial Innovation and Payments

Our presenters and panelists discussed innovations in payments and consumer adoption and the use of new products, tools, and technologies. The discussion also focused on the role of payments innovations on expanding access and ease of use among consumers, and the importance of engagement by companies, regulators, and consumers.

Keynote Address: Lender Confidence in a Time of Uncertainty (recording)
Mark Begor, Chief Executive Officer, Equifax (presentation)

Papers Session: (recording)

  • Financial Innovation, Payment Choice, and Cash Demand ― Causal Evidence from the Staggered Introduction of Contactless Debit Cards
    Martin Brown, Professor of Banking, University of St.Gallen (presentation)
  • This Is What’s in Your Wallet ... and Here’s How You Use It
    Scott Schuh, Associate Professor, West Virginia University (presentation)
  • Making Connections: Adoption of Mobile P2P Payments and Financial Inclusion
    Ellen Merry, Principal Economist, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Panel Discussion: Innovations and Opportunities in Payments and Credit Card Lending (recording)

  • Moderator: Jackie Nugent, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
  • James Kim, Fintech and Payments Team Lead, Ballard Spahr LLP
  • Amy Friend, Senior Advisor, FS Vector
  • Charles Walton, Senior Vice President – Digital Identity, Mastercard (presentation)

Session 2: Industry Impact of COVID-19

The impacts, both human and economic, of the COVID-19 pandemic are undeniable. Our experts discussed their work delving into those impacts, the possible long-term changes to the payments ecosystem, and possible paths to recovery.

Keynote Address: Economic and Market Outlook – After the Intermission
Wayne Best, Chief Economist, Visa Inc.

Papers Session: (recording)

  • Income, Liquidity, and the Consumption Response to the 2020 Economic Stimulus Payments
    Michaela Pagel, Roderick H. Cushman Associate Professor of Business, Columbia Business School (presentation)
  • The COVID-19 Shock and Consumer Credit: Evidence from Credit Card Data
    Benjamin Kay, Senior Economist, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
  • The Initial Household Spending Response to COVID-19: Evidence from Credit Card Transactions
    Fiona Greig, Director of Consumer Research, JPMorgan Chase Institute (presentation)

Panel Discussion: Short- and Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 on Credit Card Lending and Payments (recording)

  • Moderator: Thomas Akana, Senior Research Fellow, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
  • Amy Crews Cutts, President and Chief Economist, AC Cutts & Associates LLC (presentation)
  • Cristian deRitis, Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics
  • Moshe Orenbuch, Managing Director, Credit Suisse (presentation)
  • Herman Ramirez, U.S. Consumer Payment Panel Manager, Visa

Session 3: Industry ML/AI Adoption

The credit card lending and payments industry has historically been at the forefront of technology adoption. Advances in ML/AI across traditional business functions including origination, account management, payments, fraud, collections, and risk, generating new challenges and novel opportunities. Our expert speakers and panelists discussed these important topics.

Keynote Address: Machine Learning (ML) in Finance: Lessons Learned (recording)
Charles Elkan, Managing Director and Global Head of Machine Learning, Goldman Sachs (presentation)

Papers Session: (recording)

  • The Resilience of Responsible AI
    Scott Zoldi, Chief Analytics Officer, FICO
  • A Survey of  Machine Learning in Credit Risk
    Joseph L. Breeden, Chief Executive Officer, Prescient Models LLC (presentation)
  • Algorithmic Accountability
    Adair Morse, Associate Professor of Finance, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley (presentation)

Panel Discussion: ML/AI in Consumer Credit: Evolution or Revolution?

  • Moderator: Simon Freyaldenhoven, Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
  • Cynthia Rudin, Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Statistical Science, Duke University
  • Adair Morse, Associate Professor of Finance, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley (presentation)
  • Amit Gandhi, Professor of Economics, University of Pennsylvania
  • Nitin Sharma, Senior Research Scientist, PayPal

Organizing Committee

Thomas Akana Consumer Finance Institute

José J. Canals-Cerdá Supervision, Regulation, and Credit Department (SRC) and the Supervisory Research and Policy Forum (SURF)

Iris Gonzalez SRC and SURF

Robert M. Hunt Consumer Finance Institute

Nicole Rizzo Consumer Finance Institute

We greatly appreciate the support of our Corporate Affairs, Public Affairs, and ITS departments, in particular, Barbara Brynko, Monica Conrad, Karen Kleskie, Josh Rivera, Cherese Verdi, Kristen Santiago, and Dan Silverman.