Last week, today May 16: News in payments and fintech

Our bi-weekly news roundup collects some of the headlines in payments and fintech to watch, giving leaders across industries (or fintech enthusiasts) a quick glance at some of the news in the space. In Flywire’s 10+ years in delivering the most complex, high value payments, we’ve had a unique opportunity to work with many different organizations in the fintech and payments ecosystem. We’ve seen changes in how clients get paid, how their customers want to pay and how central the payments experience has become – not just across the industries we focus on, but every industry.

Headlines

Fisher-Price Partners with Concerto Card Company to Launch New College Savings Mastercard - Businesswire
Cardholders who push their rewards to a 529 savings plan get 2% back on their purchases and a $50 bonus for savings in the first three months.

Cross-border growth continues for Visa and Mastercard in Q1 ‘23 - FXC Intelligence Bolstered by travel to Asia, cross-border volumes for the major card networks grew again, with international travel spending a highlight in both earnings calls.

International students are here. Now help them succeed. - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Frank Gaertner, senior associate director of academic advising for international students at Emory University’s College of Arts and Sciences, shares his view and how his role has changed in recent years.

Inflation exposes weak spots, and opportunities, for payments - American Banker
In this environment, maximizing efficiencies in B2B payments is among the areas of focus for corporate treasury departments. The panelists from Bank of America, First Century Bank, Customers Bank and EarnIn shared their thoughts at Arizent’s Payments Forum in San Diego.

Gen Z is ‘Generation Digital Health’ as 62% Use Digital Patient Portals -PYMNTs.com
“Omnichannel healthcare is a now near-universal phenomenon in the United States,” according to PYMNTs, with broad adoption among Gen X, millennials and especially Gen Z.

‘Landmark’ Crypto Law Proposed in New York to Establish ‘Strongest and Most Comprehensive’ Crypto Regulations in US - news.bitcoin.com
New legislation proposed by New York Attorney General Letitia James would require public audits of financial statements and KYC procedures, among other measures, on the crypto industry, as well as impose monetary fines for violations.

6 Takeaways from Fintech Nexus: Networking, ChatGPT, Cybersecurity, and More - CFO.com
Cybersecurity and compliance were on the minds of attendees, the author writes, and what route ChatGPT will take is still a bit of an enigma.

From Flywire

Flywire Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial Results
Flywire signed more than 170 new clients in the first quarter of 2023, representing the largest sales quarter in the company’s history.

Debunking 529 plan misconceptions: 5 common 529 saving plans questions answered Flywire spoke with Paul Curley, Director of 529 & ABLE Research for ISS Market Intelligence, about some of the questions he often receives about 529 savings plans, and some of the newer policy changes easing the barriers to savings and use.

IT and revenue cycle leaders share how they’re improving patients’ financial futures together
IT and revenue cycle leaders are working on improving the patient financial experience together at Houston Methodist, UC Irvine, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and FirstHealth of the Carolinas, who shared their strategies on a recent webinar.

What’s next for African tourism? 3 key takeaways from WTM Africa
Flywire’s Annie Galvin attended the conference in Cape Town, South Africa recently and shared some of what she learned.

How to best support student payment needs with staffing shortfalls
Flywire’s Jim Garrant shares his tips for supporting a modern student lifecycle with limited resources.

3 customer experience-led reasons to improve cross-border B2B payments
Is improving cross-border B2B payments on your B2B customer experience list? 3 reasons it should be.

Stat of the week

$56.1 trillion. The size of the cross-border payments market by 2030 – reflecting growth of 40% year over year from 2023, according to new marketing sizing datasets developed by FXC Intelligence.

Report of the week

Top 100: How have the leading cross-border payments companies changed over the years? FXC Intelligence breaks down trends in its Top 100, including fintech growth in emerging markets.

Word of the week

Bridge millennials
- a term becoming more in vogue to connect Gen X and millennials, and to describe those born between 1980-1989 who don’t quite fit into either bucket (as if anyone really does), but are the first “connected” generation with spending power.

Conversation starter

CFO Hiring Was Streamlined During Covid, But More Thorough Vetting Is Back in Vogue - The Wall Street Journal
Finance chiefs are still in demand, but turnover has dropped a bit, and companies are taking their time vetting new candidates in contrast to the past couple of years.