FutureBrand launches payment revolution branding for New Payments Platform
Several years after first being proposed by the federal government, Futurebrand has unveiled the branding for the unified New Payments Platform which will underpin real-time payments for financial institutions, business and consumers.
The coalition of Australia’s largest financial institutions has been building the technology infrastructure for real-time payments and the project is now moving into the adoption stage with the brand idea “Open for Progress”.
“Brand identity and experience underpinned by simplicity and neutrality – two principles that are grounded in the fact that the platform (and the brand) needs to drive understanding across a range of enterprise users and to enable others’ efforts in creating the future,” the New Payment’s Platform said in a statement.
“We expressed this brand idea with what appears at first glance to be an inconspicuous box, but in fact reveals itself to be a clever system that supports the communication of complex information.”
Interesting. Its a reasonably clear branding, and its flown remarkably low under the radar, because although I knew about the idea I’ve seen next to nothing to date. I expect there is still a shitfight to come, from the participating banks over it, the tendency to want to over-badge with their own name and logo is insurmountable. (BPAY for instance is pretty much it for neutral branding and its notable its not just the majors)
So I come to my second observation: The minors, the credit unions, have been beavering away on NFC and Android/Apple pay. They now have credible tie back to the in-phone wallet.
This thing is all about SWIFT. The logos on their website, the artwork make it plain its about inter-bank clearing for SWIFT. SWIFT is the 3 day cheque clearance co-owned by the majors, the elephant in the graveyard, the engine of paper exchange which has saddled this mob with the “why hasn’t my money cleared” problem. It doesn’t mention NFC or in-app purchase. It feels like its an attempt to do an end-run around whats emerging in-device.
And it has a low-key, neutral, understated brand. Hmmm. Meantime, put an i in front of it, and everyone knows its Apple. Put it in a wallet and everyone knows its google. Brand? Huge.
If it was solely on brand, I know who I’d back. Its not the RBA. (mind you, thats actually my all-time favourite LOGO, if you exclude IBM)