Happy 250th birthday, America! As we celebrate our republic, we are reminded that one of our nation’s greatest strengths has been embracing change and innovation while building safeguards that protect the people and communities that fuel our economy.

This goes for banking, too. It’s easy to forget, but this nation didn’t always have a stable monetary system. President Andrew Jackson fought the powerful elite to decentralize savings and lending. Even the almighty dollar was once up for debate; it wasn’t until the 1870s that Congress would issue “greenbacks” everyone could count on.

Financial innovation has succeeded because policymakers took the time to ensure new ideas strengthened, not weakened,…