According to Ian P. Moloney, Chief Policy Officer at the American Fintech Council (AFC), the financial services industry is at an important point as technology continues to reshape banking and financial services.
“We’ve seen a lot of technology coming to the fore and really changing what banking means and how it’s done,” Moloney said.
Representing both bank and fintech members, AFC focuses on advocating for policies that encourage responsible innovation while engaging in policy discussions at both the federal and state levels.
Moloney said one of the industry’s biggest challenges is ensuring a more unified approach to regulation while continuing to support responsible innovation. He noted that AFC works to identify policies that encourage innovation and support responsible innovators both domestically and abroad.
“We’re really focused on finding ways to advocate from a policy perspective on how to encourage responsible innovation and really engage in both the federal and state advocacy realms to do so,” Moloney said.
The importance of industry engagement
For AFC, effective advocacy begins with understanding how businesses operate. Moloney notes that the most engaged members are those willing to participate in both policy and business discussions. He said AFC seeks to engage not only with government affairs professionals but also with business leaders so the organization can better understand how a member’s business operates when advocating on its behalf.
“Good policy stems from understanding products and services,” Moloney said.
A longstanding relationship focused on innovation
Experian has been a member of AFC since 2020, supporting the organization throughout its growth and evolution.
As AFC expanded beyond its initial focus on lending and broadened its engagement across financial services, Experian’s participation grew alongside it. Moloney points to Experian’s role in helping develop an ecosystem that supports responsible innovation across the industry.
Supporting new approaches to consumer credit
One area where Moloney highlights Experian’s contributions is helping expand opportunities for consumers through new approaches to credit reporting and data usage.
He cites initiatives focused on alternative data and helping individuals build credit histories, including Experian Boost®, as examples of efforts designed to support consumers who may have previously been underserved by traditional credit systems.
Moloney also pointed to collaboration between Experian and buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms within AFC’s membership. He said the organizations have worked together to develop better ways to categorize and capture BNPL information, helping credit histories more accurately reflect consumers’ responsible repayment activity.
About the American Fintech Council
The American Fintech Council (AFC) is a standards-based trade association representing financial technology companies and innovative banks. AFC advocates for policies that support responsible innovation, promote transparency and inclusion in financial services, and encourage a customer-centric financial system. Its members work to increase competition in consumer finance and support products designed to better serve underserved consumers and communities.
Learn more at https://www.fintechcouncil.org/
