Dwolla Tackles Net Neutrality, a “Powerful Equalizer” in Payments

The issue of Net Neutrality is a contentious one.

The Internet is a valuable resource that facilitates innovation and the solving of some very real problems.

The current state of the World Wide Web allows for every person or business, equal access to bandwidth (service and infrastructure providing, which in the US, is lacking to say the least).

However, cable companies are fighting for the right to segment different users, basically slowing down service for those who don’t pay up, which would have a huge impact on Internet startups as well as the average Netflix-watching consumer.

The Federal Communications Commission is currently taking public comments on Net Neutrality and one Internet-borne payments company has responded.

Dwolla, an Iowa-based company that provides real-time payments and settlements has issued a statement to the FCC regarding their support and upholding of Net Neutrality.

Dwolla cofounder Ben Milne writes that the defeat of Net Neutrality would be a major blow to all players in the payments industry.

Innovation would grind to a halt as the major Internet providers control the pipe. Larger and established Internet companies can pay for faster service and might not be affected, but a startup in a garage for instance, may find difficulty competing.

A slower internet would amount to higher instances of fraud since it would take financial institutions longer to process the data that calculates risk and facilitate machine learning.

It would also lead to the payments industry adding new fees to recoup the losses of having to pay for access to the proposed “fast-lane,” which is not good for either consumers or businesses.

Milne’s response to the FCC can be found here.