The payments business is in transition. The confluence of external factors, changing customer preferences, and internal pressures threatens to engulf banks or to strand them on islands of expertise, relegating the unwary to basic payments processing, clearing, and settlement. Commercial banks need a vision for payment systems that will allow them to bridge business and technology silos to compete more successfully in this changing environment. This TowerGroup ViewPoint considers some of the challenges facing banks' payment businesses and outlines the need for change.