Digital disruptors are at work in the payments arena, removing friction along the path to the moment of payment and creating products and services that are stirring up a dramatic transformation in the consumer payments industry.

Payment applications are a mission-critical focus of APM initiatives, so any developments in this sector will undoubtedly impact APM.

In a new report, Forrester Senior Analyst Denée Carrington explores three disruptive payments trends that are expected to gain momentum in 2013 and are garnering significant consumer and merchant attention:

- Emerging payments models will disrupt traditional payment economics. Merchants have a growing set of payment options that do not adhere to the traditional processing fee model and some that deliver additional value beyond payment processing (think LevelUp, Dwolla). As merchants adopt these new payment methods, their expectations will reset, and they will expect lower costs and greater value from incumbent payment service providers.

- Mobile digital wallets will differentiate through contextual features. As the digital wallet wars continue in 2013, leading competitors will drive adoption by integrating capabilities that remove friction and transform the payments and commerce experience in contextually relevant ways.

- Emerging alternative financial services will appeal to a broad base of consumers. The payment needs of a large base of underserved consumers (unbanked, underbanked, and debanked) are not met by traditional financial services or by existing alternatives. Disruptors are creating better, lower-cost alternatives (think Amex's Bluebird, Chase Liquid) that will appeal to consumers and create new business opportunities across the payments ecosystem.

"Merchants and consumers will wield their tremendous influence in picking winners and losers in the payments ecosystem, as the array of alternative payment options become more abundant, more accessible, and begin to deliver greater value to the commerce experience," notes Carrington.