At a major industry conference this month, the paper instrument kept cropping up in discussions, even with an agenda focused on digital modernization.

Checks became a major topic of discussion this month at an annual payments conference that one attendee referred to as the industry’s all-star game.

No, it wasn’t Money20/20, which took place last week, but rather the Chicago Payments Symposium. The latter is hosted by Federal Reserve Financial Services, the division of the central bank with purview for payments and innovations like the instant transfer system FedNow. It takes place at the Chicago Fed and this year occurred on Oct. 13 and 14.

It’s really the “opposite” of Money20/20, said Deborah Baxley, a partner at the consulting firm PayGility Advisors in Rye, New York. It’s not large, about 150 attendees, and everyone is gathered in a theater-style auditorium with microphones at every seat for discussion with the speakers, and “classy” catering at a reception cocktail party, she said in an interview last week.

By contrast, Money20/20 draws thousands of attendees to The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, with conference-goers dispersed to multiple stages for a frenetic schedule, with casinos as a backdrop for the event. Another difference is that the Fed event is invite-only with press barred from attending, while Money20/20 feeds on generating attention, business and publicity for the fintech industry.

While the star speakers at Money20/20 were the CEOs of major companies, including digital payments player PayPal Holdings and AI search tool company Perplexity, the Chicago Payments Symposium’s celebrity was Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee, the former economic adviser in President Barack Obama’s administration.

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