Payments Professionals Can Get the Inside Track on Industry Innovations at the 2025 Payments Forum

• The 2025 Payments Forum is scheduled for March 4-6 in San Francisco.
• The conference opens with a special event honoring influential women in payments and a meeting of the Electronic Benefits Transfer Community Council.
• A senior leader from Citizens Bank delivers the keynote address, which focuses on how data and modern technologies are transforming the customer payment experience.

Payments professionals take note — the 2025 Payments Forum, to be held March 4-6 at the Marriott Marquis in downtown San Francisco, is right around the corner. The event, hosted by American Banker, focuses on trends and innovations in the payments arena. Payments leaders looking to fine-tune their organization’s strategy and make powerful connections with other players in the the payments space will be in attendance at this year’s forum. 

Industry insiders know that 2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year in forming the future of the payments landscape. Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) solutions and embedded finance tools have the potential to redefine how consumers and businesses transact. And advancements in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency acceptance introduce more questions than answers when it comes to determining how they’ll mold the future of payments.

But attendees at the Payments Forum can gain an advantage over their competitors by learning how the latest innovations and industry changes figure to impact the corner of the payments world they represent.

More than 300 attendees, including senior executives and payment thought leaders, are expected to attend the conference, which has an advisory council littered with experts from industry titans such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa.

The Payments Forum kicks off with two conference-within-a-conference events on Tuesday, March 4. The Most Influential Women in Payments Conference 2025 highlights payment leaders — selected by American Banker — who are shaping the future of embedded finance. This year’s honorees include influential women from companies such as American Express, Discover, and U.S. Bank.

During this portion of the conference, leaders from companies including Bank of America and Talus Pay will share their experiences working in the payments industry and discuss tips for professional development. 

The Most Influential Women in Payments Conference leaves plenty of time for exchanging business cards and making connections. The conference features networking breaks and concludes with an awards ceremony and reception.

The electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system allows government agencies to issue financial assistance to consumers through a secure and efficient process. The EBT system is a vital component of multiple government-assistance programs.

The EBT Community Council (ECC) Conference, also scheduled for the forum’s first day, convenes government officials and payments professionals to examine best practices and insights that can lead to more effective fund-disbursement processes.

The ECC conference will feature updates presented by leaders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will leave time for attendees to network with other ECC stakeholders.   

Attending an industry conference can feel like spending a weekend at a music festival where you can take in shows by a number of established and emerging artists. Music fans attending a festival have to make sacrifices when numerous acts they’re interested in watching are performing at the same time at various locations throughout the festival grounds. 

The Payments Forum reduces the anxiety that can accompany choosing to attend one speaker’s presentation at the expense of missing another by minimizing the number of overlapping items on the agenda.

Conference presentations will tackle innovation in payments from various angles. Attendees can expect to learn about the following payments drivers during conference sessions:

• What’s Next for Payments: Content Strategist Michael Moeser forecasts the future of payments in this session that covers how banking leaders expect President Donald Trump’s administration policies to impact payments in 2025.
• Dispute Resolution: Banks can devote significant time and resources to managing disputes on card transactions, but help is on the way. Leaders from ServiceNow and Visa will share case studies and present a solution that helps banks save time and money on resolving disputes.
• Mitigating Fraud: A payments conference wouldn’t be complete without a discussion on the latest fraud prevention tools. The Payments Forum will feature multiple sessions with payments experts who aim to help attendees recognize and prevent payments fraud. 
• Trending Payments Topics: Developments in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency regulations, and BaaS products feature prominently in the financial news cycle. Each of these areas touches on the payments ecosystem, and the Payments Forum will devote sessions to exploring how businesses can best prepare themselves to take new technologies and regulations in stride.

Michael Ruttledge, Chief Information Officer and Head of Enterprise Technology and Security at Citizens Bank, delivers this year’s keynote address. Rutledge’s presentation will center on the customer experience and how data and emerging technologies are impacting the payments landscape.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed upon first arriving at a conference. Be sure to review the daily agenda and schedule how you plan to spend your time at the Payments Forum to make the most of each day. Don’t forget to leave time for visiting exhibitor booths and making connections with your fellow attendees.
Registration for the 2025 Payments Forum remains open. With less than a month remaining until the conference commences, you have time to calculate the return on investment your organization can expect to realize after you attend the conference and boost your payments knowledge.