2018 Power of Prepaid® Conference Takes Industry by Storm

WASHINGTON (April 11, 2018) – This week, the payments industry converged at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. for the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association’s (NBPCA) 7^th Annual Power of Prepaid^® Conference. Over the course of three days, executives, regulators, legislators, and other experts gathered to discuss the many changes occurring in the industry. 

The association also announced plans to change its name to Innovative Payments Association in 2019, due largely in part to the industry’s rapid growth and innovation.

“Now in its seventh year, the Power of Prepaid® conference remains the premier industry event to reflect on prepaid’s progress over the previous year and prepare for the future. We were thrilled to have one of our largest crowds in recent years, which underscores how far-reaching prepaid technology is,” said Brian Tate, president and CEO of NBPCA. “As many of our panels noted, this is an exciting time for the industry as we continue to drive innovation in the payments space and bring diverse products to market for consumers across the country. Looking ahead to the future, our association’s new name will allow us to better serve the various companies using prepaid technology and their customers.”

 Keynote speakers included Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) and Lyft’s Ashwin Raj. Panelists included representatives from Mastercard, Wirecard North America, the Federal Reserve, Metabank, Visa, and AARP. There was also a special appearance by Olympians Meryl Davis and Charlie White. 

“The Power of Prepaid® conference continues to be the go-to event for industry collaboration and celebration over our accomplishments from the past year,” said Robert Skiba, chairman of the NBPCA board and executive vice president at InComm Inc. “With companies based all over the globe, gathering in-person and being able to hear from other experts on the trends and challenges they’re seeing makes our industry stronger.”    

Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from Kirsten Sutton Mark, who was named chief of staff for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in January. She previously served as staff director for the House Financial Services Committee under Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

“Given all of the changes happening at the CFPB in recent months, and her deep experience with financial policy, it was an honor to have Kirsten Sutton Mork speak at this year’s Power of Prepaid,” said Ben Jackson, COO of NBPCA. “We make it our mission to bring the best and the brightest in the payments and policy realms to the Power of Prepaid to give attendees one-of-a-kind insights on the industry and Washington. With the prepaid accounts rule finalized, attendees especially appreciated Kirsten’s unique vantagepoint on where the industry goes from here.”

More details can be found at http://prepaidevent.com/. To stay up-to-date on NBPCA’s rebranding effort, visit www.nbpca.org. 

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About the NBPCA 

The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA) is a non-profit, inter-industry trade association that supports the growth and success of network branded prepaid cards and represents the common interests of the many players in this new and rapidly growing payments category. For additional information, visit www.NBPCA.org, or follow us on Twitter @NBPCA.  

Media Contact: Kate Allen, 202-617-3086, [email protected].