Day One at IPC 2025: A Day of Insight, Innovation, and Industry Action

As we close out the first full day of the 2025 Innovative Payments Conference, we’re reflecting on the conversations, connections, and critical issues that shaped today’s agenda.

From the opening session on protecting the gift card ecosystem from fraud to our closing look at the payments threat landscape, every discussion reinforced the pace of change—and the need for collaboration—in the evolving world of fintech and payments.

We kicked things off with a fireside chat between IPA CEO Brian Tate and former FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams, who shared her candid perspective on regulatory oversight, deposit insurance, and lessons learned from the Synapse bankruptcy. Her insights into institutional resilience and the complexities of managing failure offered a thoughtful lens on what’s ahead.

That theme of future-thinking carried through the rest of the morning:

• A panel on the future of the payments value chain explored how AI, faster payments, and global perspectives are reshaping how we build and deliver financial products.
• Stephen Middlebrook then provided a detailed look at two recent Executive Orders targeting federal payments modernization and fraud prevention, urging us to think more critically about digital infrastructure and operational integrity.

After lunch, Roy Sosa and Kate Lybarger inspired the room with a special presentation chronicling Roy’s 26-year journey from $750 and a vision to launching Cambio, a new multi-currency debit product focused on building credit and serving underbanked communities.

The afternoon sessions brought both clarity and urgency:

• A panel of legal and compliance experts addressed how bank–fintech partnerships are shifting in the wake of consent orders and third-party risk scrutiny.
• Another session tackled the fast-growing world of Earned Wage Access (EWA)—a product reshaping financial wellness for millions of workers but still navigating a patchwork of regulatory frameworks.
• Conversations on gift card fraud and the role of government and industry collaboration highlighted how organized retail crime is forcing innovation in legislative response.
• And we closed the day with Visa’s Dan Munson, who walked us through the latest intelligence from Visa’s Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control team—giving attendees actionable strategies to protect against scams, system misconfigurations, and emerging threats.