Few would be tempted to call Apple, Google, Amazon, Intuit and PayPal “the league of enthusiastic cooperators” because most of the time they aren’t — they are fierce and occasionally brutal competitors. Unless it is time to go to Washington; in which case, a different tune starts getting sung, “Why Can’t We Be Friends.”
And they’re singing that song through a lobbying group they’ve formed to push the government for policies friendlier to technological innovations from FinTech players and to push back against the increasingly common calls for regulation in the financial services space.
“The interesting thing is that in Washington in particular, there has not been a voice for technology and innovation in banking. This group is just starting off, and we are looking forward to building that voice,” Brian Peters, the executive director for the coalition, told Forbes. ”That’s what the purpose of this group is: to make sure that policymakers understand the benefits that technology is bringing to the marketplace.”
Peters said that the five companies’ different business focuses will be a benefit for the group.
“They each touch on many different parts of commerce. You have search, software, online commerce, you name it — they all have a core expertise in one area,” he said. “It’s incredibly helpful to policymakers to know that some of these leading innovators can agree and deliver a unified and consistent message.”
The actual lobbying agenda of the group is still being determined, though broadly the goal is to push for more real-time payments and clearing, a greater reach for marketplace lending and a press to “unlock the power of financial applications.”
“We’re entering into a variety of conversations,” Peters said. He pointed to the conversation around marketplace lending as an example of an issue he’d like the coalition to be involved in.
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