Over the last couple of months some of the key developments in payment systems have been:

• Citi’s new mobile wallet provides customers with a mobile option for online, in-app and in-store payment needs. Mobile is, in Citi, regarded as a digital extension of their current card relationship, capable of working across a multitude of smartphones and not vying for top-of-wallet positioning in non-bank alternatives from the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google.
• Citi has opened up its technology and architecture to third parties through the launch of a global API developer hub which they say “marks the evolution of Citi’s technology to open architecture" as it builds partnerships with fintech firms and consumer brands. Although they are already working with Mastercard, Virgin Money and Wonder
• dLocal’s payment platform for emerging markets relies on understand each of the local market conditions and practices including pay-ins, pay-outs and in country cash collections. dLocal covers over 100 different local payment systems and one the most advanced APIs that e-commerce providers integrate their systems and then they have access to 100s of local payment systems
• Adyen is able to say they offer a global service covering “wherever people pay” because they have APIs that contact to the local systems and integrate into their customers own e-commerce systems
• The Openness of the new PSD2infrastructure is being pushed by ACI and others, see. Although the path to the legal and practical side of openness won’t always run smoothly, the advent of global API hubs (Citi’s is not the only one) shows the future of payments
• Finland have launched first real-time mobile payments platform , named Siirto. It is an open payment platform which follows the new regulations set by EU’s Payment Service Directive (PSD2), paving the way for new innovations and payment solutions within the financial ecosystem
• The Nilson Report predict that to 2020 credit, debit, and prepaid cards spending will continue to grow faster than personal consumption expenditures in the US as card issuers and retailers provide incentives to move more spending onto payment cards. 

Meet needs of millions of customers that don’t use credit cards

Alternative Payments are predicting that by 2017 alternative payments will account for 59% of all global transaction methods:

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RS2 and many others are predicting increasingly new growth will come from the use of local in country payment systems.

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CTMfile take: A vital differentiator between payment system providers is already and will  become even more important is, “How good are your APIs?” The key payment system question for corporate treasurers is, “How much business are you missing out on by not including local payment collection systems?”