Speaking Engagement

Digital Payments

Tuesday, March 19 07:00 AM BST to 10:00 AM BST

Please join us for a lively panel discussion led by Paul Hastings Partner Tom Brown on e-commerce and payment innovation.

Measuring Innovation and Investment in a Highly Regulated Industry

A host of companies are building better ways for buyers and sellers of various goods and services to transact more efficiently. Industries that have long seemed immune to innovation (e.g., taxi dispatch services) are being reinvented overnight. Complementing this marketplace innovation has been renewed focus on the payment tools themselves. Cash and check have certainly been in decline, and we now see traditional first-generation electronic payment systems (credit cards, debit cards and electronic settlement systems) under attack as well.

Existing payment mechanisms, however, are still quite serviceable for many routine transactions, and they have undeniable network scale and trust. And, importantly, there is a well-defined (though complicated) legal regime governing the movement of money and the extension of credit. These realities create some hurdles for people thinking of backing or joining such innovation efforts.

But breakthroughs do occur: Paypal (1999), Green Dot (2001), Bit Coin (2009) and Square (2010). These innovators bent rules and set new precedents along the way for e-commerce. Certain radical innovations and innovators became accepted, while others continue to operate in the gray space - or beyond. What can we learn from this?

Where Is All This Going?

If the pace of disruption was just a function of technology enablement, many of our industry questions could be answered. But in our more fickle real world, complacent consumers and merchants embrace a well-understood status quo. Regulators, litigators, investors and entrepreneurs all have their own appetite for disruptive risk. Will 2013 be a tipping point for transformative change in payments practices or another year still dominated by a status quo of the known and familiar?

Opening Keynote Remarks:

Steve EllisEVP, Head of Wholesale Services, Wells Fargo & Co.

Moderator:

Tom BrownPartner, Paul Hastings

Panelists:

William HarafManaging Director, Promontory Financial Group

Hans MorrisManaging Director, General Atlantic

Bill BarhydtCEO & Founder, Boom Financial

Chris LarsenCEO & Founder, OpenCoin

Guy GoldsteinCEO & Founder, Pageonce

Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2013Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm PSTRegistration 7:00 pm - 7:15 pm PSTOpening Keynote 7:15 pm - 8:45 pm PST Panel Discussion 8:45 pm PST (Social)Location: The Hub, 901 Mission St., Ste. 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

We welcome your advance feedback. Please send any questions or topics you would like us to address at this event to anna.g.cortes@wellsfargo.com. We will address them during the open Q&A session.