A challenge from Commonwealth Bank in the health payments sector aims to disrupt NAB's Hicaps platform.  CBA has entered a strategic alliance with online health provider directory and customer review website, Whitecoat.com.au.Former NAB chief executive, Cameron Clyne, is the chair, and also a shareholder in Whitecoat.Under the deal, struck in August, CBA will insource Whitecoat's technical expertise to help develop a new health insurance payments platform marketed to health practitioners and patients.The move is part of a new effort by CBA to erode the market dominance of National Australia Bank's HICAPS business, which processes almost 85 per cent of all payments relating to private health insurance claims. Major banks are upgrading their health payments platforms to accommodate the expected shift of claims transactions to mobile applications. Also in their sights is the longer running intrusion by Tyro Payments into the health sector.NAB last week launched a new mobile app that will allow patients to shop for health practitioners and insurers, while also executing insurance claims when they settle invoices issued by health professionals.NAB is also continuing to leverage its national fleet of eftpos terminals installed at hospitals and medical clinics.CBA aims to expanding its presence in health payments through a multi-pronged strategy that includes the rollout of new generation payments terminals to challenge NAB's high penetration as the merchants' bank across the health professions.A CBA spokesman declined to comment on how much the bank was paying to migrate parts of the Whitecoat business model to its new platform. "We are always looking to see how we can use technology to create innovative solutions for our customers," the CBA spokesperson said."We are considering development of new solutions in a number of industries, however we do not have anything specific that we are ready to discuss."The health payments market is viewed as a lucrative income spinner by banks, partly because the aging of the population has put the health services industry on a growth trajectory.That has lowered the risk profile of practices owned by health professionals, making them a highly sought after segment of the business lending market.Whitecoat's strategic goal is to become "the Tripadviser of health care in Australia".It is owned by three of the country's largest private health insurers - BUPA, HBF and NIB - along with a string of private shareholders, including Clyne.There has been intense speculation in the banking sector in the last month that CBA would be taking a strategic position on the company's register.However, Banking Day has been told by trusted sources that the bank was more focused on developing a proprietary health payments business within its institutional bank.