ETA Commends Congress’ Passage of Additional Stimulus Funding Through Digital Payments
3-11-2021
Washington, D.C. — March 10, 2021 — The following statement is attributed to Jodie Kelley, CEO, Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association for the payments technology industry, regarding Congress’ passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill:
”We applaud Congress today for passing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package that will help speed up recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession. The American Rescue Plan has broad public support and is a great next step in helping all Americans, particularly low- and moderate-income Americans, get back on their feet.
The digital transactions industry has been essential in keeping the economy moving during the pandemic by providing safe and secure payment options. During the previous round of economic stimulus, the industry helped the U.S. Treasury distribute $110 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to more than 1.5 million small businesses, billions of dollars in federal and state unemployment benefits, and $9 billion to 57 million Americans using prepaid cards provided by the industry. Prepaid cards give Treasury another secure way to get stimulus money into the hands of Americans who need it quickly.
Our members have advocated for the use of a diverse range of payments technology products and services to help Americans during this crisis, and we stand ready to provide continued assistance to Treasury in distributing stimulus funds as the American Rescue Plan is rolled out across the country.”
About ETA
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies. ETA members make commerce possible by processing more than $21 trillion in purchases worldwide and deploying payments innovation to merchants and consumers.
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About ETA
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the world’s leading advocacy and trade association for the payments industry. Our members span the breadth of significant payments and fintech companies, from the largest incumbent players to the emerging disruptors in the U.S. and in more than a dozen countries around the world. ETA members make commerce possible by processing approximately $56.75 trillion annually in purchases and P2P payments worldwide and deploying payments innovation to merchants and consumers.
ETAs membership spans the breadth of the payments industry to include independent sales organizations (ISOs), payments networks, financial institutions, transaction processors, mobile payments products and services, payments technologies, and software providers (ISV) and hardware suppliers. For more information, visit electran.org.