Banks and payments players need to change their playbook

HOW the stodgy world of payments has changed. Consider that at a recent rugby match in Malaysia, one of the writers ordered grilled satay chicken from a stand run by a 12-year-old boy. Cash only? Hardly - he had a QR code for customers to pay through their Grab app.

Once dominated by big-dog banks and credit card companies, payments are becoming a wagging tail appended to other services offered by any number of digital-native companies. Almost half of e-commerce payments and more than a quarter of point-of-sale payments globally will be made via e-wallet by 2022, Worldpay forecasts - largely at the expense of cash, cards and checks.

As payment competition intensifies and technology reduces costs, the price of payments will continue to drop.