‘The Future of Money’ seminar held at the DLD Conference in New York at the beginning of May put the spotlight on the most important sectors within financial tech, where the panel suggested that the banking industry is ripe for big changes – especially in the payment sector.

Regulation and capital needs have so far prevented much disruption in the banking sector. When it comes to payments, the big banks still handle most of the transactions. But things are set to change. FinTech disruptors are able to cut costs and deliver faster payment solutions while offering rates that banks are unable to match.

I believe, therefore, that the real success in payments in 2015 will be where the barriers to economic growth that many businesses simply ‘sleepwalk’ into accepting, are removed. The innovation has to come from those businesses that facilitate payments using better, faster, more cost-effective ways to enable the immediate transfer of funds from one organisation to another irrespective of geography.

But ensuring the flow of benefits works in every direction is also crucial.  By that I mean that every stakeholder needs to become part of the same community which has no barriers. Payments should occur instantly regardless of geography, as if the two parties – payer and receiver – were next door neighbours.

It’s not a pipe-dream.  It’s possible now – and the payment service providers are already buying into it. But to really make it work, the merchants using those PSPs have to join the party. So the payment innovation that will have the greatest success is the one that disrupts the traditionalists the most.

Banking Circle has created a payments ecosystem where every member can benefit by being able to make instant cross-border bank transfers at a very low cost in multiple currencies.

Ultimately, building a stable and transparent community in the payment sector will play a major part in the sustainability of the global economy.  Innovators who can meet these needs – and businesses that are willing to join them to move away from traditional banking – will undoubtedly have the greatest success.