The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence held a hearing on the financial technology landscape, focusing on how fintech products fit within the U.S. financial system and regulatory framework and urging clearer, practical legal pathways paired with strong consumer protections. Chair Bryan Steil and Committee Chair French Hill argued for balanced regulation that supports innovation and responsible partnerships between traditional financial institutions and technology companies, while other members highlighted the business impact of regulatory ambiguity for digital assets and artificial intelligence, including concerns about unclear treatment by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and “enforcement by action” rather than a defined framework. Witnesses and members also pointed to the costs of launching new payment systems under state-by-state licensing in 49 jurisdictions, described as taking up to two years and costing millions of dollars, and called for more consistent approaches. Industry and academic witnesses advocated a uniform national, risk-based, technology-neutral framework for artificial intelligence in payments and urged tailored federal rules for earned wage access and buy now pay later products that distinguish different models and set consumer protections, including arguments that earned wage access should not be treated as credit.

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