You didn't read? I coulda sworn someone or more than one someones specifically mentioned, probably more than once, the payment system stuff the devs are actively developing?
I read the thread and didn't see any such announcements. I fully agree we shouldn't bloat the block chain, and that there may need to be separate layers, but what's the problem with a 60 byte max memo attached to a transaction, just as with bank transactions? Or even just a hash?