Undertaking Payments Innovation At The Edge

What exactly is “Payments at the Edge?”

Well, over the next two days, PYMNTS will be joined by those looking to chip away at that very question. It’s the question many players across the payments and commerce ecosystem are undertaking at this very moment.

And, of course, we have technological innovations to thank, as MPD CEO Karen Webster shared during her opening remarks at Innovation Project 2016 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, today (March 16).

“Thanks to the proliferation of connected devices, software, the cloud, ever faster and more ubiquitous broadband, new technologies and the great imaginations of innovators everywhere who see a future that most can’t yet comprehend but work tirelessly to make our reality.”

But to discover what “payments at the edge” really means, it means looking into a world away from where payments actually happen. A world, Webster notes, where “payments and commerce can happen anywhere and anytime a consumer and a business want to transact.”

That’s the edge of commerce — and beyond.

But what inspires today’s innovators to take their journey to that “edge?” An edge that comes without the certainty of rewards or knowledge of if those rewards will truly be found or if their vision will survive to see the edge at all.

So, what makes an innovator an innovator?

Perhaps, the concept of dopamine, Webster says. Or, simply, how a person’s brain is wired. But, then again, she adds, science can only take us so far. Right?

“Because I think what really motivates people to start that journey to the edge and to keep going, despite the headwinds they may encounter on the way there, is something more powerful, more personal and, in the end, more typical of those willing to risk it all in pursuit of a vision in which they so strongly believe,” Webster said during her introduction speech at Innovation Project.

Taking the audience through a historical tale — taking a page from many inspirational leaders’ lives — Webster shares what pioneers of their time have in common. Pioneers like Lewis and Clark, Marco Polo, Madame Curie, etc.

“The intellectual curiosity to move beyond the status quo. An unshakeable belief that something better lies ahead. A commitment to go first and unlock that potential for others. The courage to see the journey through, no matter the personal price. The willingness to pivot along the way. The understanding that any journey to the edge can’t be taken alone. And the insight that sometimes the journey really begins once you get to the edge.”

And whether we’re taking inspiration from the pioneers of the history books or those making history in the tech, commerce and payments ecosystems today, inspiration can come in many places.

“Big company or cash-poor startup, your commitment to making things better and to exploring new frontiers is why you’re at Innovation Project,” Webster told the audience.

And those conversations kicked off today.

“Luckily, we have the brightest minds and most capable explorers right here over the next two days to share what they’ve learned on their own journeys to the edges of payments and commerce and back,” Webster concluded.

As for what those minds will conclude?

You’ll have to wait and see.