BITS

A division of The Financial Services Roundtable, BITS is a non-profit industry consortium whose members are 100 of the largest financial institutions in the United States. Created in 1996 by the CEOs of these institutions, BITS fosters the growth and development of electronic financial services and e-commerce for the benefit of financial institutions and their customers. Working to sustain consumer confidence and trust by ensuring the security, privacy and integrity of financial transactions, BITS provides intellectual capital and addresses emerging issues where financial services, technology and commerce intersect, acting quickly to address problems and galvanize the industry.

BITS' efforts involve representatives from throughout our member institutions, including CEOs, CIOs, CISOs, and fraud, compliance and vendor management specialists. These leaders identify issues, develop strategic recommendations and implement the CEOs' decisions. BITS also facilitates cooperation between the financial services industry and other sectors of the nation's critical infrastructure, government organizations, technology providers and third-party service providers.

BITS' mandate is to:

Facilitate the growth of electronic financial services
Facilitate development of superior, market-driven technologies
Maintain the industry's role at the heart of the payments system as e-commerce evolves
Sustain consumer confidence and trust by ensuring the safety, soundness, privacy and security of financial transactions
Leverage resources and infrastructure across the industry

Please note that BITS is not an acronym. At one time, BITS stood for "Banking Industry Technology Secretariat." However, with financial modernization and the emergence of integrated financial services companies involving insurance, securities and banking, that term is no longer used.