Senate Banking Committee Considers FinTech Innovation

The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking (the "Committee") considered testimony from industry experts on the challenges, benefits and potential future development of FinTech.

At the hearing, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Chair of the Committee, set a broad agenda. He lauded the potential for FinTech to bring improvements in the financial sector. He pointed to marketplace lending, digital payments and currencies, wealth management and insurance as areas on the front lines. He also highlighted the uncertainty and risks around data security and proper regulatory treatment.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the ranking Democrat on the Committee, focused on data protection. He highlighted the recent breach at Equifax and the trend toward collection of increasing volumes of data that may be sensitive. Senator Brown asked for views as to how Congress can improve federal oversight of data collection and data security to protect the public. He also expressed interest in hearing how