Payments is an ecosystem. If banks don't make friends with digital partners, they'll be in danger of losing their cards business, say analysts at a conference this week.

"If they get displaced, it's their own fault," says Andy Schmidt, a research director in the commercial banking and payments practice at CEB TowerGroup. "The signs have been there for years, because people want to use their mobile devices more and more."

Alternative payments companies are already offering consumers a way to circumvent traditional payments networks, says Schmidt, who spoke with American Banker ahead of TowerGroup's annual conference in Boston.