Kandie Alter

Kandie Alter is assistant vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Payments Policy Group which conducts research and market monitoring on retail payment systems in the U.S. and abroad. The group’s focus centers on payment system digital innovation and modernization as well as the evolution of domestic and cross-border payments. Alter led the drafting team supporting the development of the 2017 Faster Payment Task Force final report. This work was foundational to the industry’s push toward instant payments in the United States and included stakeholders from across the payments industry identifying and evaluating approaches for implementing faster, safer, and ubiquitous payments. Alter has served several areas at the Chicago Fed including strategy, supervision and regulation, and enterprise risk management. Before the Fed, she held positions in the tech industry and non-profit workforce development. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of New Mexico, and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies.