Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and FTA president and CEO Penny Lee. Photo: Joel Austell / Austell Creative for the FTA
Fintech leaders argue that America's financial infrastructure is hindering innovation, and legacy payment systems urgently require modernization.
Why it matters: Outdated rails slow consumer transactions, increase costs, and put the U.S. at a disadvantage compared with global competitors that already offer real-time digital payments.
Driving the news: At the Financial Technology Association's CEO Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, fintech execs lamented the state of U.S. payment rails.
- "The ACH system and bank-to-bank transfers in the U.S. are significantly outdated compared to the rest of the world," Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer said at the event.
- "I think the U.S. is far behind in terms of infrastructure," Sid Jajodia, Revolut's U.S. CEO, said in a separate session. "You look at UPI in India, PIX in Brazil, iDEAL in the Netherlands — every country is coming up with instant payment methods."
The big picture: Legacy systems aren't just inconvenient, execs say. They also increase costs, slow economic activity, and undermine the competitive edge of U.S. fintech companies internationally.
- "Modernizing our domestic payment rails will not only help with remittances, but will help merchants and commerce providers collect funds more efficiently and more affordably," Oppenheimer said.
State of play: Policymakers and regulators acknowledge the urgency. Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said modernizing payment rails is crucial for American competitiveness.
- "We should be spending just as much time on infrastructure to go truly real-time, not analog system-based. I think that will make the entire payment system more competitive," Rep. Hill said.
Between the lines: While real-time settlement rails like FedNow or The Clearing House's RTP network have become available to banks, founders argue that limited access slows down commerce and innovation.
- "With FedNow, non‑big financial institutions like remittance companies or international‑payments companies can't get access — and that's preventing some of the adoption we've seen in other countries," Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer said.
- Sure, he's talking his book. But that doesn't make him wrong.
The intrigue: Recent policy momentum in Congress, including stablecoin legislation under active discussion, could jumpstart the modernization fintech leaders seek.
- Rep. Hill highlighted stablecoins and blockchain as promising avenues to overhaul America's payment rails.
- "We want to see a market‑structure framework and the rules of the road around using blockchain financial services… so the private sector can fully innovate," Rep. Hill said.
Yes, but: Rep. Hill cautioned Congress needs to pass both the stablecoin bill (STABLE-GENIUS) and broader blockchain market-structure legislation (CLARITY Act) together.
- "You can't pass one bill and declare victory," Hill said. "You need both stablecoin rules and the broader digital-asset market structure to achieve true digital-asset leadership."
The bottom line: Without congressional action on stablecoins and payment rail modernization, the U.S. risks falling further behind global competitors in financial innovation, which harms consumers and businesses alike.
