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.
Here are some of the payments and fintech headlines from May 17-June 1.
Headlines
Efforts and Vigilance Pay off in the Battle Against Payments Fraud - Treasury and Risk
Mariam Lamech, who is director of survey research for the AFP, details the findings of the 2022 AFP Payments Fraud Survey, including that nearly half of respondents didn’t see an increase in payments fraud at their organizations even with the increased prevalence of remote work.
Eurozone Inflation Hits Fresh High as More Energy Sanctions Loom - Wall Street Journal
Inflation in the eurozone reached an annual 8.1% in May, a sharp acceleration from the 7.4% rate of inflation recorded in both April and March, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal.
Virtual Cards Aid Expense Management, Financial Inclusion -PYMNTS.com
PYMNTS tackles some of the benefits of virtual cards for both businesses and consumers – quoting data from Visa that the global value of transactions is expected to hit close to $7 trillion by 2026, up from about $2 trillion in 2021.
How are Small Businesses Using Embedded Finance? - Payments Journal
Payments Journal digs into four ways SMBs are using embedded finance technologies to help them grow – including in payroll, insurance, accounts payable and lending.
The Beneficial Characteristics of Real-Time Recurring Payments- U.S. Faster Payments Council
The U.S. Faster Payments Council issued a whitepaper on how real-time payments may work for recurring payments. “There are many real-life use cases across the board for recurring payments, not just in e-commerce but for insurance, utilities, and investments,” said Josh Karoly, Director of Payments at Netflix and FPC Real-Time Recurring Work Group Chair.
Half of Consumers Would Switch Providers for Better Bill Payment Experience - PYMNTS.com
Speaking of recurring bills, a new PYMNTS survey looks at the strong link between convenience of payment and consumer satisfaction.
From Flywire
Education payments leaders share advice on minimizing paper checks by digitizing 529 disbursements
529 plans offer tax-incentivized ways to pay for many different types of education expenses. But as their popularity grows, it’s also clear that the processes to access and use the funds are digitally far behind.
Are you listening? How AI-driven chat is changing patient conversations
When health leaders think about personalization they may only think about serving up timely information they believe their patients might want. While this is a very powerful strategy for engagement in and of itself, personalization can also be about choice. Enter AI-driven chat.
Flywire in the News: Business Journal Announces 2022 CFOs of the Year - Boston Business Journal
Flywire CFO Mike Ellis was named CFO of the Year by Boston Business Journal.
Put Down Roots: 10 Boston Tech Companies Hiring Now - Built in Boston
Flywire Senior Manager Global Experience and Communications Allie Figures shared why it’s great to be a FlyMate with BuiltInBOS.
Stat of the week
80% - percentage of cross-border payments that are B2B related, according to Financial Technology Partners “B2B Payments: The Last Major Bastion of Paper-based Payments and Processes.”
Report of the week
19th Identity Fraud Study Shows $52 Billion in Losses, 42 Million Americans Affected - Payments Journal
Identity fraud surged from 2020 to 2021, according to Javelin Strategy’s 19th Annual Identity Fraud Study, totaling upwards of $52B and affecting more than 42 million Americans.
Conversation starter
Alexa, why have you charged me £2 to say the Hail Mary? - The Guardian
The reporter’s mother, trying to put her Alexa gift to the highest use, delightfully and dutifully asked it to recite the “Hail Mary.” At some point, this plea was understood by the AI-enabled agent as a request to subscribe to a prayer app. Through a delightfully innocent story of his 87-year-old mother, Patrick Collinson details the issues new capabilities in voice-enabled AI agents present.