Often, technical service providers, as they are known, such as firms providing the wallet app, are part of this payment chain, but they are not as firmly regulated as payment service providers or clearing and settlement mechanisms, for example. Up till now, payments have been built around centralised hub-and-spoke models, like at card organisations or in clearing and settlement mechanisms.
That means transactions flow via a central processing entity either directly to the payee’s account or after passing a number of additional processing entities, depending on the number of actors involved. Basically, the central organisation establishes trust among the participants that funds can be exchanged safely.