Reporter
American Banker
Joey Pizzolato is a reporter at American Banker, covering payments. Previously, he's covered auto and equipment finance, the mortgage and housing industry, and bank technology and marketing. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from the Naslund-Mann School of Writing at Spalding University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from DePaul University.
Global payments are entering a new phase, shaped by real-time expectations, growing complexity, and rapid advances in technologies such as blockchain, biometrics and artificial intelligence. At the same time, mission-critical payments infrastructure needs to be modernized while maintaining the resiliency and security that clients depend on.
In this fireside chat, Umar Farooq, will share his perspective on where the payments industry is headed and what it takes to innovate at a global scale. Drawing on his experience leading one of the world’s largest payments franchises and helping shape the firm’s blockchain strategy, Umar will discuss how client needs are evolving, where innovative breakthroughs are emerging, and how new technologies are being applied in payments today.
The conversation will explore how J.P. Morgan Payments is using blockchain infrastructure, biometric authentication and AI-driven capabilities to enhance speed, security and transparency across payments. Attendees will walk away with a high-level view of the payments landscape and a practical understanding of how large institutions can responsibly scale innovation without compromising trust or stability.