Disruption lessons from Payments

The payments space has been one of those spaces where there has been massive change and disruption. In this Accenture article they look at some of the key lessons:

1. Focus on scale over margins
Some disruptors use digital platforms to serve large markets at low cost with high efficiency. This lets them grow in markets with margins that payments incumbents have seen as too narrow to merit strategic investment.

2. Target neglected customer pain points
Many challengers have found space to grow by addressing customer pain points which incumbent payments players have neglected.

3. Wrap value around the payment
In today’s digital landscape, payments are often about much more than just payments. Some disruptors are growing by wrapping the right combination of value-added services around payments, or by embedding payments into wider digital ecosystems.

4. Compete at multiple stages of the value chain
Disruptors are expanding the horizons of competition in payments by targeting more than one part of the payments value chain. One common approach to this is building products that are sold as white-label offerings through another company.

Some insights there that I would expect to apply to many industries, including insurance.

Source: Accenture