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
Central bank digital currencies make headway, but can they coexist? -American Banker
Interoperability and standardization are big concerns that continue to delay decisions on CBDC in many countries, including the U.S.. This story (subscription required) takes a closer look at the progress made and the obstacles ahead.
What’s Next for UK’s 6.5M Open Banking Users? -PYMNTS.com
There were 7.5 million open banking-powered payments in the UK last year, evidence of how much growth there has been five years after requirements were set out by the European Union’s Second Payment Services Directive (D2).
Rep. Hill to chair new Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion - Financial Regulation News
The newly created House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion will be chaired by Rep. French Hill (R., Ark.), and cover areas such as: rules for digital asset regulation, policies to promote fintech to reach underserved communities and more.
India’s digital economy: Building low-cost digital inclusion - FXC Intelligence
India is a great example of a country taking advantage of technology and transformation to build a robust digital economy. This report looks at some of the key milestones in the country, the fintech ecosystem supporting it, and the delicate balance of public and private involvement.
MegaTrends – Defining Travel in 2023 - Skift
This series of short videos was filmed at Skift’s annual conference earlier this month. There are three big themes featured in the trends: the redistribution of travel, blended travel experiences, and travel in a polarized world.
Providers’ price hikes push patients to defer care, rely on payment plans, surveys say - Fierce Healthcare
Two new pieces of research point to the challenges consumers still face in paying healthcare bills – with Gallup finding that 38% of the more than 1,000 adults they surveyed deferred care in 2022 because of costs. Providers surveyed by Weave report that they’re seeing an uptick in patients turning to payment plans.
3 reasons to make accounts receivable a top priority -CFODive.com
Dean Kaplan of commercial debt collection agency The Kaplan Group discusses the risks of letting receivables slip past-due, and some advice for dealing with past-due accounts.
From Flywire
Healthcare IT pros on optimizing EHR, what’s important in bringing in new tech
Even though healthcare IT professionals are taking on new responsibilities, their traditional IT responsibilities remain, and continue to increase in complexity. Whether it’s EPIC, Cerner or another EHR system, healthcare IT pros have to manage hybrid EHR environments, keep systems upgraded, consolidate disparate applications, show ROI, and maintain high security as connection points to the EHR increase.
Why is there so much friction in B2B cross-border payments?
When cross-border payments are detoured, the negative impacts can be significant. Let’s use a fictional scenario to consider some of the real problems cross-border payment detours can cause.
Case study: Australian Catholic University
More than a decade after implementing Flywire, Australian Catholic University is serving nearly twice the international student population it did in 2012. That includes easing cross-border payments from countries – such as Nepal – that can at times prove particularly difficult when it comes to payment processing.
Stat of the week
300,000 + - the number of accountants and auditors who have quit in the past two years, leaving many companies unable to meet customers’ tax needs looking for help overseas, according The Wall Street Journal’s “Tax Season is Coming, and These Firms Can’t Find Enough Accountants in the U.S.”
Report of the week
Who invests in payments startups: The state of industry investment
FXC Intelligence details the major investors and markets in the payments space – which continues to attract support from VCs, with funding outpacing 2021 at $24.4 billion vs. $21.1 billion.
Word of the week
Quiet hiring - sort of the opposite of quiet quitting, it refers to investing in upskilling people to promote internal mobility and increase employee retention. “Is quiet hiring the antidote to the quiet quitting trend?” - Technical.ly
Conversation starter
Cashless Denmark has no bank robberies in a year for the first time - Computer Weekly
As physical bank robberies have edged from 221 in 2000 to zero in 2022, Finans Denmark also revealed that online banking fraud has surged.