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  • FDIC, FinCEN release results of digital identity tech sprint

    Fintech

    On September 9, the FDIC and FinCEN announced key takeaways and solution summaries from a recent “Tech Sprint” to develop solutions for banks and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing. As previously covered in InfoBytes, in January, the FDIC’s technology lab, FDiTech, and FinCEN announced the launch of a Tech Sprint challenging participants “to develop solutions for financial institutions and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing—the process used to collect, validate, and verify information about a person.” The FDIC and FinCEN sought solutions that included, among other things: (i) increasing efficiency and account security; (ii) reducing fraud and other forms of identity-related crime; (iii) reducing the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing; and (iv) fostering customer confidence in the digital banking environment.

    The Tech Sprint resulted in proposed solutions that followed one of three distinct approaches: (i) tools that would measure the effectiveness of identity proofing systems; (ii) development of a scoring methodology for remote identity proofing; and (iii) envisioning an identity provider consortium or platform. The release also noted that multiple participating teams referenced the use of source verification, interoperability, and emerging technologies such as zero knowledge proofs and multi-party computation for secure, privacy-protecting data sharing.

    Fintech Federal Issues FDIC FDiTech FinCEN Bank Regulatory Consumer Finance Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security

  • FDIC and FinCEN launch Tech Sprint to help digital identity proofing

    Fintech

    On January 11, the FDIC’s technology lab, FDiTech, and FinCEN announced the launch of a Tech Sprint challenging participants “to develop solutions for financial institutions and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing—the process used to collect, validate, and verify information about a person.” According to the Tech Sprint program, Measuring the Effectiveness of Digital Identity Proofing for Digital Financial Services, solutions developed from this Tech Sprint will inform future FDIC, FinCEN, and industry-led efforts, plans, and programs to: (i) increase efficiency and account security; (ii) decrease fraud and other forms of identity-related crime, money laundering and terrorist financing; and (iii) foster customer confidence in the digital banking environment. According to the agencies, digital identity proofing is “challenged by the proliferation of compromised personally identifiable information, the increasing use of synthetic identities, and the presence of multiple, varied approaches for identity proofing.” The FDIC and FinCEN will open registration in the coming weeks, and stakeholders interested in participating will have approximately two weeks to submit applications.

    Fintech FDIC FDiTech Consumer Finance Bank Regulatory FinCEN Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

  • FDiTech launches tech sprint to test institutions' resilience

    Fintech

    On August 16, the FDIC’s technology lab, FDiTech, announced a tech sprint, which challenges participants to “identify solutions that can be used by institutions of all sizes to measure and test their resilience to a major disruption.” The tech sprint, From Hurricanes to Ransomware: Measuring Resilience in the Banking World, is designed to review new measures, data, tools, or capabilities to calculate how well community banks, and the banking sector as a whole, can withstand a major disruption. According to the FDIC, “[r]ecognizing the evolving threat environment to bank operations, their need to strengthen resilience, and given the challenges that banks face in identifying criteria to determine their respective levels of tolerance for a disruption, the FDIC seeks solutions that improve sector-wide resilience by helping answer the question: ‘What would be the most helpful set of measures, data, tools, or other capabilities for financial institutions, particularly community banks, to use to determine and to test their operational resilience against a disruption?’” Registration will be required for stakeholders to participate, and additional information on how to participate is expected on the FDiTech website.

    Fintech FDIC FDiTech Consumer Finance Bank Regulatory

  • FDiTech launches tech sprint to help unbanked

    Fintech

    On June 16, the FDIC’s technology lab, FDiTech, announced a tech sprint, which challenges participants to “explore new technologies and techniques that would help expand the capabilities of banks to meet the needs of unbanked individuals and households.” The tech sprint, Breaking Down Barriers: Reaching the Last Mile of Unbanked U.S. Households, invites banks, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, private sector companies, and others to identify data, tools, and other resources that may assist community banks meet the needs of the underbanked in a cost-effective manner. According to the FDIC, a recently published survey found that more than seven million U.S. households were unbanked with Black, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native households having a higher likelihood of being unbanked. Registration will be required for stakeholders to participate, and additional information on how to participate is expected on the FDiTech website in early July.

    Fintech FDIC FDiTech Unbanked Consumer Finance Bank Regulatory

  • FDIC announces FDItech virtual ‘Office Hours’

    Fintech

    On April 29, the FDIC’s technology lab, FDiTech, announced that it will host a series of virtual “office hours” to hear from a variety of stakeholders in the business of banking concerning current and evolving technological innovations. The office hours will be hour-long, one-on-one sessions that will provide insight into the contributions that innovation has made in reshaping banks and enabling regulators to manage their oversight efficiently. According to the FDIC, “FDiTech seeks to evaluate and promote the adoption of innovative and transformative technologies in the financial services sector and to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and stability of U.S. banking operations, services, and products; to support access to financial institutions, products, and services; and to better serve consumers.” FDiTech’s goal is to contribute to the transformation of banking by supporting “the adoption of technological innovations through increased collaboration with market participants.” In the first series of office hour sessions, the FDIC and FDiTech are seeking participants’ outlook on artificial intelligence and machine learning related to: (i) automation of back office processes; (ii) Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance; (iii) credit underwriting decisions; and (iv) cybersecurity.

    FDiTech anticipates hosting approximately 15 one-hour sessions each quarter. Interested parties seeking to participate in these sessions must contact the FDIC by May 24.

    Fintech FDiTech Artificial Intelligence Bank Secrecy Act FDIC Bank Regulatory

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