Payments: what is going on behind the scenes?

The payments space has been the most frustrating to report on over the years. There is a collective groan in IBS Towers when the big payments conferences come around again. It feels like the same old people talking about the same old things. There will be lots of focus on the high-level issues, including that ‘FedEx’ comparison once more (we can see our parcels at any point in their journeys, why can’t we do the same with payments, particularly as these are electronic so should be easier to track than physical goods?). But when was the last time you heard a detailed case study at one of the events from a bank that has actually addressed and solved the issues?