The payments tripod: A tool for understanding the future payments landscape

Abstract

Payment systems are complex. Predicting where these systems are going is like playing blackjack … or is it? This paper introduces three lenses (3Ss), which, if unpacked craftily, can provide more calculated predictions of a future landscape. The main proposition is that regulation matters — above any other variable in the payments world. The paper builds towards understanding the future of payment systems through a framework entitled ‘the payments tripod’. The South African case is used to illustrate how the payments tripod model works in practice. The paper concludes with implications for practitioners, regulators and academics.