Non-banks raise the bar on payments innovation

The payments business is large, robust and mature. According to McKinsey, in 2008 during the height of the crisis revenues from the global payments market topped $1 trillion. In Asia, revenues were $248 billion. The fact that the business has stood up to so much scrutiny, in the face of the liquidity problems the world has seen, shows that the systems and processes underlining the global payments landscape are strong.

And yet it also points to a changing market the very strength of payments is attracting more and more participants. With more competition, so the theory goes, comes more innovation. “This is a stable business,” said Brian Stevenson, CEO...