The US Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is planning to hold a public hearing on emerging payments issues, including digital currencies.

The hearing will be organised by the CSBS Emerging Payments Task Force and it will take place in Chicago on the 16th of May.

The task force was formed earlier this year to examine new trends in payment systems and determine their potential impact on consumer protection, banks and laws governing the industry.

The CSBS says the purpose of the hearing will be to obtain information from a variety of entities and individuals involved in the payments system.

The hearing will include panel discussions on legacy payment systems, retail payment innovations and digital currencies, and will be open to both the public and the media.

The digital currency panel will feature executives and representatives from four prominent bitcoin companies:

Bryan Krohn, Chief Financial Officer, BitPay

Karsten Behrend, Head of Compliance, Xapo

Megan Burton, Chief Executive Officer, CoinX

Annemarie Tierney, EVP Legal and General Counsel, SecondMarket

ATM industry report upbeat on bitcoin

In related news, the Electronic Funds Transfer Association (EFTA) and the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) have released the findings of a research report on bitcoin.

The commissioned report was compiled by Value Partners Management Consulting, which also produces bi-annual reports on ATM trends.

Called ‘Bitcoin: Virtual Currency with Real Opportunities’, the document appears to be largely positive, as the title indicates.

ATMIA CEO Mike Lee said the ATMIA and the EFTA are keen to develop industry positions on bitcoin and he sees room for synergy, adding:

“This excellent report presents a history and comprehensive international analysis of bitcoin, while at the same time showing how virtual currencies and ATM systems can interface for their mutual benefit.”

Bitcoin is here to stay

As for the future of bitcoin, Lee does not appear to be overly concerned:

“I think bitcoin will still be standing, despite its ups and downs, in the medium term, perhaps even in the long-run.”

Franscesco Burelli, Partner at Value Partners, said digital currencies are proving to be a “new opportunity” for ATM operators.

“The ATM is an ideal touch-point channel between the not-so-intuitive cryptocurrencies and the consumers who may want to leverage the new payment methods but may not be sufficiently technically savvy to liaise directly with exchanges and cryptographic wallets,” he said.

Chicago image via photo.ua / Shutterstock.com