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2011 National Consumer Protection Week Conference
What, Why, and How We Pay

Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is pleased to host the 21st Annual National Consumer Protection Week Conference:  What, Why, and How We Pay plus A preview of the New Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  This symposium for consumer professionals took place on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

Some presentations are available in PDF format.

Agenda and Presentations

8:15 A.M.

Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:45 A.M. Welcome & Opening Remarks

Lynn E. Browne
Executive Vice President and Economic Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
9:00 A.M.
The Dodd-Frank Act

Speaker will explain the structure of and authority granted to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), its mission and purpose, and its intended impact on consumers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:  Purpose & Function pdf
Susanna Montezemolo
Vice President, Federal Affairs
Center for Responsible Lending
10:15 A.M. Break
10:30 A.M.  
Mobile Payments

New Way to Pay—Via Cell Phone pdf
Will Graylin
Founder and CEO
Roam Data

Consumer Protection Issues in Mobile Payments pdf
Mark E. Budnitz
Bobby Lee Cook Professor of Law
Georgia State University College of Law

Soon we will all have the option to pay at the cash register by simply swiping our cell phones.  Speakers will talk about this new payment system and related consumer protection implications.
11:30 A.M.
Why We Pay: Studies of Shopping Behavior

Speakers will explain why credit card rewards make us spend more money and why buying luxury items can be habit forming.

We Spend More with Reward Cards
Sujit Chakravorti
Senior Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Why Design Items Can Spark Shopping Sprees
Henrik Hagtvedt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Boston College

12:15 P.M.
Regulatory Update

Speaker will highlight some of the changes to federal regulations that impact our regular banking practices.

Regulatory Update pdf
Carol S. Lewis, Esq.
Consumer Regulations Specialist
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

1:00 P.M.   
Luncheon & Presentation

Merchants can now offer discounts for different payment methods.  Are surcharges in the future? Speaker will discuss what this could mean for us as consumers in terms of how and how much we pay.

How Coming Discounts Could Lead to Surcharges
Edgar Dworsky
Founder
Consumer World
2:00 P.M. Adjournment