Not all payments are created equal: segmenting the payment landscape

Abstract

ABSTRACT The payments landscape is changing. Checks and cash are declining and being;replaced by electronic instruments; a range of new players are taking aim at the role;and position of banks; and new technologies such as Bitcoin/Distributed Ledger are;even challenging the nature of money itself. An often-heard argument is "a payment;is a payment", implying that a new player with a superior technology or customer;proposition, if successful, would be able to ultimately replace all existing payment;instruments/systems. This paper argues that the current payments landscape consists;of segments with inherently different characteristics that require different approaches.;Most dynamics occur within such segments, rather than across them.