Chief Policy Officer
American Fintech Council
Ian P. Moloney is Chief Policy Officer for the American Fintech Council (AFC) leading the association’s policy strategy across the fintech ecosystem. Prior to AFC, Ian was Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Cross River where he was responsible for leading the bank’s regulatory strategy, focusing on fintech and traditional banking regulations, and representing the bank as a regulatory expert to direct Cross River’s public policy objectives and positions to engage effectively with key federal and state regulators and policymakers. Ian was also previously with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington D.C. as a Senior Analyst of Financial Markets & Community Investment, where he worked on fintech, small business lending, and digital identity issues. He has been involved in the fintech space since 2017 and has published multiple reports on fintech topics, both domestically and internationally. Ian has written on fintech issues for American Banker, the Federation of American Scientists, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, and the United Nations.
Ian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, History, and Philosophy with an Ethics Minor from Central Michigan University. Ian also has an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.
The regulatory ground is shifting beneath the fintech industry. The CFPB’s landmark 1033 open banking rule—finalized in October 2024—is now under reconsideration by new agency leadership, with enforcement enjoined and compliance timelines uncertain. Meanwhile, fintech-bank partnerships face heightened scrutiny following high-profile failures, and embedded finance providers navigate a patchwork of state licensing requirements that vary wildly by product and jurisdiction. This panel brings together fintech policy advocates and regulatory practitioners to examine the most pressing questions: Will open banking regulation survive in recognizable form? How should institutions prepare when the rules keep changing? And where can industry advocacy shape outcomes that balance innovation with consumer protection?