Patrick Harker, Speech: The Changing Payments Landscape in a Period of Pandemic Recovery

“So, I realize I’ve thrown a lot of data at you. And although we are convening in a college town today, I promise there won’t be a quiz. But I am going to assign some homework. Have a look at the Consumer Finance section on the Philadelphia Fed website; you’ll find some very interesting work there.”

“What I do think is that these data offer unique insights about the way American society responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented strain. It allows us to discern which changes are likely to be fleeting and which ones were already in motion prior to the pandemic and are likely to be long lasting.”

“We saw how pandemic-era policies and lifestyle shifts led to a run-up in household liquidity; however, overall, this run-up is not likely to be sustainable for everyone.”

“We saw Americans embrace new ways of making payments as they, first, shifted to online shopping, and then made changes to their payment habits that apparently have real staying power.”

“And we’ve seen how consumers responded to dramatic changes in the cryptocurrency markets, slowing, but likely not reversing, the growth of that sector in the coming years.”

“What we have yet to see is how these shifts will play out in the long run — and how they will affect the Federal Reserve’s solemn responsibility of fostering an economy where all Americans can thrive.”

In the Q&A segment, labor/wages were briefly discussed at 4-hours, 21-minutes into the conference. At 4-hours, thirty-minutes the unemployment rate was briefly discussed. At 4-hours, 35-minutes the debt ceiling was also briefly discussed. In all three segments where the economy was talked about, only general information was shared.