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Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) July 15, 2014
Financial services and public policy experts will discuss the challenges underserved communities face without access to high-quality financial services and examine opportunities for innovations designed to increase financial inclusion and improve the financial health of American consumers during a briefing co-hosted by Master Your Card and the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI). The briefing will also feature the release of a new report, The Technology to Advance Equal Financial Opportunity, which was authored by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) associate professor J. Phillip Thompson.
WHAT: Expert Briefing – Electronic Payment Technology: A Gateway to Mainstream Financial Services for the Underserved
WHO: Opening remarks by:
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)
Briefing panelists:
Jeanne Hogarth, vice president of policy, CFSI
Shawn Miles, senior vice president of global public policy, MasterCard
J. Phillip Thompson, associate professor of urban studies and planning, MIT
Marla Bilonick, interim executive director, Latino Economic Development Center
WHEN: Thursday, July 17
Breakfast: 8:00 a.m., Panel Discussion: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge
529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20045
WHY: According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, released in 2012, nearly 8.2 percent of all U.S. households are unbanked, while 20.1 percent are underbanked, meaning they depend on high-cost, high-risk services, like pawnshops and payday lenders, to secure credit and pay bills.
The conclusions of a new report by MIT associate professor J. Phillip Thompson indicate that electronic payment technology offers the financially underserved an important alternative to predatory financial institutions. During the briefing, panelists will discuss these conclusions and offer their perspectives on how new technology can help Americans build their financial health. The discussion will draw from the panelists’ diversity of experience in the nonprofit, corporate and academic sectors.
ATTENDANCE: To RSVP or request an interview with any of the panelists, contact Jackie Priestly at (202) 251-9703 or jpriestly(at)masteryourcardusa(dot)org.
About the Center for Financial Services Innovation
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) is the nation’s authority on consumer financial health. CFSI leads a network of financial services innovators committed to building a more robust financial services marketplace with higher quality products and services. Through its Compass Principles and a lineup of proprietary research, insights and events, CFSI informs, advises, and connects members of its network to seed the innovation that will transform the financial services landscape. For more on CFSI, go to http://www.cfsinnovation.com and follow on Twitter at @CFSInnovation.
About Master Your Card
Master Your Card is a public education campaign by MasterCard® that helps consumers, small businesses and governments get more from their money by using prepaid, debit and credit cards to their advantage. For more on Master Your Card, go to http://www.masteryourcardusa.org and follow on Twitter at @MYC_USA.