March 20, 2015 - A bipartisan group of US House of Representatives members have formed a caucus to investigate payment technologies.

Republicans Lynn Westmoreland and Randy Neugebauer have joined forces with Democrats David Scott and Kyrsten Sinema to form the Congressional Payments Technology Caucus (CPTC).

In a statement, the founding members - who are all on the House Financial Services Committee - say the CPTC's mission is "to explore the new and innovative technologies in the payments industry, as well as answer questions about data security, new technologies, unbanked users' access to electronic payments, and more".

However, no details have yet been provided on specific areas of investigation.

Says Westmoreland: "Global technology is growing and changing at a rapid pace and has a dramatic effect on our consumer payment systems and cyber security. The formation of the CPTC will help keep members up to date on industry changes, serve as an invaluable resource for information, and provide a panel for discussion on future legislation."

The Electronic Transactions Association has welcomed the caucus, pledging to work with it to "advance deployment of payments technologies that grow our economy while improving the lives of all Americans".