Maria Stephens of USAID Introduces the Emerging Payment Systems Seminar Series

In this video, Maria Stephens of USAID introduces the Emerging Payment Systems Seminar Series. This next phase of the seminar series broadens the scope of previous discussions to recognize that mobile financial services is a subset of broader emerging payment systems. Therefore, the EPS Seminar Series will implicitly discuss the integrity of underlying assets, either at rest or in transit, delivered through any mechanism. Stephens highlights upcoming discussion topics as listed below:

• February 28: How FATF guidance relates to emerging payment systems issues
• March 30: Restrictions in the uptake of mobile financial services within a Ghanaian field-based context
• April 27: Questions that need to be addressed from both consumer protection and product design perspectives to ensure greater financial inclusion for groups such as visually impaired consumers
• September: Privacy and data security issues as they pertain to emerging payment systems

Thank you for your interest in the seminar series. We look forward to your participation and feedback!

Bio: Maria Stephens

Maria Stephens is a Senior Technical Adviser with the U.S. Agency for International Development and subject matter expert in emerging payment systems risk and regulatory issues with over 18 years’ experience in microfinance and financial economics. While a Financial Economist at the U.S. Treasury Department, Stephens participated in the development of regulatory position papers focusing on derivatives and other related financial products and services. She provided long-term technical support to the Central Bank of China and GTZ to establish PRC’s first private-sector microcredit company, and she is a primary author of the USAID-Booz Allen Hamilton Mobile Financial Services Matrix, and related papers. Stephens holds a B.A. (Hons) in Greek, Latin, and Old Irish from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a M.A. in International Economics, American Foreign Policy and Mandarin Chinese from Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.