The price tag for Australian banks to bring the country's New Payments Platform into operational service this year is estimated to be US$785 million (A$1 billion), according to analysts at GlobalData.The report by GlobalData noted that the NPP is an instant payments system - an overall type of service that's becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide, leaving central banks and other national bodies to contend with the drastic increase in electronic payment volume that has taken place over the past decade. "For those banks that have invested in this upgrade project, the focus now will inevitably turn to return on investment," said GlobalData analyst Arnie Cho.In the short term NPP is likely to drive significant growth in online credit transfers, peer-to-peer(P2P) payments and recurrent payments/direct debits. However, over the medium to long term this will lead to a further decline in the use of cash, cheques and payment cards as methods of payment.Cho, continued: "Australia's NPP will facilitate fast growth in mobile based payments creating the environment for a gradual removal of payment cards. This process might take a decade or more but such change seems inevitable. The future of payments in Australia, and across the globe, is likely to be in mobile payments linked to current accounts."Not all banks will benefit from the new system in the same way. The most innovative banks are likely to benefit most from NPP through launching new products and services.  However, revenues will be restricted as banks will only be able to charge their commercial clients for the new payment services as consumers will expect to receive these services free of charge.