WASHINGTON–The FDIC has offered additional direction around its “rapid phased prototyping (RPP) initiative,” which is open to banks and other federally insured institutions and which is a program designed to help accelerate the adoption of new technological solutions.
The letter clarifies that banks are not obligated to participate in the program and won’t be required to adopt the solutions or reporting systems that are developed as a result.
Instead, the FDIC said it published the letter to provide additional information about the intent of the program, how participants were chosen, expectations of the agency in partnering with participants, responsibilities of banks that participate, and other aspects.
The Objective
According to the FDIC, the RPP, which was announced in 2020, is a competition designed to accelerate the adoption of modern technological solutions to help the FDIC fulfill its mission.
“In particular, the solutions explore new ways to receive, manage, and analyze data from individual institutions, particularly community banks, without increasing compliance burdens,” the letter states.
The FDIC said lessons learned during the competition, as well as lessons from future FDIC “tech sprints,” will promote the “safe and sound adoption of these technologies, helping banks and supporting consumers in the process.”
The Specifics
In the letter, the FDIC specifically said:
- RPP competitors have been selected through an FDIC-approved and -controlled competitive procurement process; agreements are between the FDIC and the RPP competitors and do not extend to any financial institution
- FIs are not required to collaborate with any RPP competitors. Instead, RPP competitors will independently determine whether they will seek to collaborate with FDIC-supervised financial institutions to receive feedback and input on proposed prototype designs.
- FIs will not be required to adopt the solutions or reporting systems produced by the RPP initiative, and participation in solutions are voluntary.
- FIs that choose to collaborate with an RPP competitor will be responsible for complying with appropriate consumer protection laws, privacy laws, and other legal requirements.
- Information collected by RPP competitors in connection with the current RPP is not collected on behalf of or for the FDIC.
- During the course of any demonstrations or negotiations of prototype capabilities, the FDIC said it will work with the RPP competitors to ensure compliance with applicable consumer protection laws, privacy laws, and other legal requirements.