Emerging Mechanisms for Moving Money

Monday, February 3, 2014
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
(Pacific)
CISAC Conference Room
Speaker: 

Over the last several years the landscape for money movement has changed dramatically. Non-state-backed digital currencies such as Bitcoin have introduced new paradigms for money movement in which transfers are public but the identities of the individuals behind the transfers are masked. Traditional currencies are being moved in novel ways as well. In the developing world, unbanked populations are engaging in an increasingly sophisticated array of financial transactions using mobile phone-based mobile money services.

These changes present both opportunities and challenges. Mobile money, for example, has become a vital tool for financial inclusion for tens of millions of people in the developing world. Yet, all mechanisms for moving (and storing) money—new and old—involve risks and the potential for misuse. This seminar, which will be structured as a highly interactive facilitated discussion, aims to explore ways to realize the benefits of technologically facilitated money movement, while also providing frameworks minimizing the risk of misuse. 

Speaker bio:

John Villasenor is a professor of electrical engineering and public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a CISAC Affiliate. His work addresses the intersection of digital technology with public policy and the law.