Latest news with #Wise
Finextra
3 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
EBAday 2025: Solving for low-value cross-border payments
The panel session 'Evolving Business Models in Cross-Border Payments', explored the complexity and evolution of modern cross-border payments. 0 Moderating the last panel session of EBAday, Leo Lipis, chief executive of Lipis Advisors, talked all things cross-border payments with a panel including Akshat Saharia, head of European financial institutions product and propositions global payments solutions at HSBC; Anastasia Serikova, head of Visa Direct for Europe, Visa Direct; Emanuela Saccarola, head of cross-border payments, Citi Services; Sanjeev Bhatti, director - product management global payments at BNY; and Steve Naudé, global managing director, Wise Platform. As there have been multiple sessions discussing the complexity of cross-border payments, Lipis kicked off the session by pointing out that this session will focus on low-value payments of under $100,000. The panel highlighted that one of the main differences between high- and low-value payments is the varying consumer expectations. Naudé began by outlining that speed and price are not the crucial factors for high-value payments, whereas security is essential. For low-value payments however, consumer have expectations for payments to be seamless, cheap, and instant. How these payments are processed also looks very differently in the backend. Saccarola picked up on the complexity aspect: "In the past, we had one way to make cross-border payments, and that was wire. Now you have instant payments, cards, wallets, digital assets. So this space gets very complex very quickly. And complexity is added up by the fact there are 200 countries in the world. Each corridor, it's one cross-border payment corridor you have to solve for. So if you do the math, that's about 20,000 combinations." A poll to the audience revealed that 66% of participants' banks use RTGS for the Euro leg of cross-border, cross-currency payments, 12% use real-time payments, and 8% use Batch. Another aspect is perceived segmentation of high- and low-value payments. "We always think about retail as low-value," Serikova explained. "In reality, Visa services a couple of ultra-high net worth individuals, and those payments can be really high-value. And equally, we think of large corporates as high value, but in reality, how many of them have supplier payments under 10k? [Financial institutions have] a whole matrix of customer needs that they need to be able to service accordingly." However, it's not just consumer expectations that have changes, B2B cross-border payment are affected as well. As low-value payments expectations have evolved, we have quickly taken those expectations from our private to our business lives, and organisations are increasingly demanding more seamless and instant payments. On top of that, the gig economy is another aspect that has shifted the expectations of cross-border payments. Considering all of these factors, how many priorities are too many priorities? How can financial organisations address this complexity? "The world of cross-border payments is getting very complicated," Bhatti stated. On top of traditional methods, you have "instant payments schemes opening up, which have different limits, different rules, different requirements. You have projects that are tied to these schemes like IHP and Nexus. And then you've got blockchain solutions like Agorá. And you can get involved in all of these, if you've got the bandwidth to do it, but it's probably easier to select a partner who can insulate each chain, or multiple partners, and it's relatively straightforward to connect to it." Saccarola agreed that organisations need to decide whether they want to do it on their own or work with a provider, or even work with providers for certain currencies and implementing solutions for other currencies. It's all about complementing their strengths. A second poll to the audience enquired about the biggest barrier to changing operating models in low-value cross-border payments. 37% of respondents stated inertia and complexity of change, 22% mentioned regulation, 18% answered scheme limitations, 16% stated lack of a business case, and 4% answered lack of awareness. Saharia commented: "There is a lot happening, but I sometimes feel that with all the right intent, all the greatest technology out there, we sometimes forget what we are trying to solve." For example, "the talks about interconnecting RTP schemes. I think it's a great vision, but [..] we forget how complex it is to bring central banks and regulators to work together to come up with a common framework how to prevent fraud if any participants fail? It's already very hard when it's within a single country. It gets absolutely complex when it's multiple countries. [..] While we have all these different models, we keep forgetting that there was an old world for correspondent banking—sorry, I'm a banker, I have to say this—that still works. There are lots of things that have to be done to improve it, and a lot of work has happened already." Naudé agreed that banks need to find the right partnerships for the problems they are trying to solve for. He emphasised that there are a lot of options in the market, so institutions should look at the quality of infrastructure they would be purchasing. "How many payments are going to be reachable with the beneficiary in what period of time? How are providers connected into those rails?" Serikova added the importance of compliance when searching for the right partnership, and striking the balance between "global coverage, but it needs to be combined with really deep local expertise." Looking towards the future of cross-border payments, Bhatti mentioned that the "EBA have a big role in this. I think its core strength is harmonisation and an early spot of risks. As we move towards this new horizon, that harmonisation is going to be key. But also as payments get quicker, being able to spot the risk and communicate it across the community quickly could be essential."
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The beach destination dubbed the 'Maldives of Europe' - with £2 pints, cheap flights and crystal-clear sea
The Maldives is one of the world's dreamiest holiday destinations and a popular choice for honeymooning couples. But the islands tend to come with a pretty hefty price tag, particularly as the majority of accommodation options are luxury resorts. However, if the islands seem a little beyond budget, there's a European destination where you could get a similar feel for far less money. TikTokers @theresortcouple posted a video where they say tourists will 'find the European Maldives in the cheapest country'. They recommend Ksamil, an enchanting seaside village in Albania, as a budget alternative to the Maldives. The TikTokers say they love Ksamil's 'crystal clear water and white sand beaches' and describe it as the 'most breathtaking place'. Lonely Planet has previously described Ksamil as having some of Albania's best beaches. The travel guide explains: 'South of Saranda, the unofficial capital of the Albanian Riviera, and within striking distance of the Greek border, Ksamil has an excellent location. 'The three small islands in its turquoise bay are an easy swim or boat ride away, and there are always fewer people here than on the busier town beach.' Ksamil's best-rated beach on Tripadvisor is Ohana Beach Bar, which has a 4.4 out of 5 star rating. A tourist describes it as a 'clean and nice beach'. Tourists can also explore an incredible historic landmark while they're in Ksamil. Butrint National Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is just 11 miles from the seaside village. The ancient ruins are more than 2,500 years old and include a Hellenistic-era theatre and early Christian monuments. And a holiday in Ksamil will cost a lot less than travelling to the Maldives. According to Wise, the average cost of a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in Albania is just 1,000 lek/£8.50. Meanwhile, a pint of domestic beer costs just 249 lek/2.13 and a cappuccino comes in at just 164 lek/£1.40. To reach Ksamil from the UK, British tourists will need to fly to either Tirana in Albania or Corfu in Greece. The village is around a four hour drive from Tirana while tourists can take a ferry to reach it from Corfu. The ferry trip takes around half an hour and will drop tourists in Saranda, a popular Albanian seaside resort, that's under half an hour away from Ksamil. But Ksamil isn't the only European holiday destination to be described as a cheaper alternative to the Maldives. A gorgeous island off the coast of Antalya in Turkey has previously been described as the 'Turkish Maldives'. The island has been celebrated for its 'powdery white sand' and 'crystal clear waters'.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
About 1,100 South Carolinians reported being victims of illegal health plan swapping last year
Director of Insurance Michael Wise testified in front of a House subcommittee on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, that cases where people's health insurance changed made up 22% of all fraud complaints last year. (Screenshot of SCETV legislative livestream) Insurance middlemen who switched South Carolinians' health care plans without telling them accounted for 22% of fraud cases reported to the state Department of Insurance last year, the agency director told legislators Tuesday. Of the 5,000 complaints of fraud reported throughout 2024, 1,100 came from people who signed up for insurance through the online marketplace — created by the Affordable Health Care Act also known as Obamacare — and said their health care plan was changed without permission. That's illegal, but the scam is relatively easy. All it takes is for a licensed broker to have the insured's name, date of birth and home state, said Michael Wise, director of the state Department of Insurance since 2023. The agent pockets the commission, while patients usually have no idea they've been had until they try to use their insurance card at a doctor's office or pharmacy, Wise told a House oversight panel. 'They might switch these policy orders a good many times. And so that has become a trend that we're looking out for,' he said, adding he's heard of plans being switched up to 16 times. It's a national problem, with agents often scamming people from multiple states. The Center for Medicare Services and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees the online marketplace, received 73,884 complaints of unauthorized policy switching in the first six months of last year. That led to the agency announcing last July that it would no longer authorize changes from agents or brokers unless they were already associated with the person's enrollment. Any unassociated or new broker now has to do a three-way call with the customer and a federal call center. 'That has become a trend that we're looking out for. The federal government is too, and some things have been put in place to try to curb that,' Wise told the House subcommittee. In April 2024, KFF Health News reported that CMS emailed a plan to industry representatives to handle complaints from people who'd had their insurance switched. The scam became common enough to get its own acronym: UPS, for unauthorized plan switch. The slideshow says CMS found a 'large number of 2024 UPS cases' involving plans that were auto-renewed because the person was unaware. In South Carolina, cases are under investigation, but no one has been charged yet with a crime related to the scam, said Jason Spencer, a prosecutor for the Department of Insurance. He did not specify how many cases remain open. Spencer added that Florida seems to be a hotbed for agents doing this and he's in regular contact with that state's Department of Insurance. The scam involving health plans subsidized through the federal marketplace started popping up in 2022 and were initially sparse, Spencer told the SC Daily Gazette. By 2023, it had become a trend. Then in 2024, the complaints skyrocketed, he said, though he didn't have the exact numbers. 'It took a steep jump very quickly,' he said. Brokers typically make $20 to $25 for every person they enroll and can make that commission multiple times from the same person, according to KFF Health News. 'They could sign that same person up for another plan again, and that was how they were just continuing to churn commissions,' Spencer said. He explained that the scammer and victim often never talk to each other. A licensed broker can get information from the federal database. But sometimes the rogue agents will call their victims, claiming they're signing people up for a survey, saying they could win a potential prize, when they are actually gathering potential information to switch their insurance policies. 'They would be in contact with somebody that's advertising discount cards or gift cards — 'Oh, just sign up for this survey' — and they don't really pay attention to what they are signing up for,' Spencer said. 'The person who's actually supposed to be insured doesn't have any idea any of this is going on until they go to their doctor, and their doctor's like, 'Oh, well, where's your copay?'' Spencer said. Spencer's recommendation for avoiding the surprise: Read your mail, especially if it's from an insurance company. 'If you get something in the mail that looks like it's from some insurance company that you're like 'Oh, I don't have any business with them,' don't just assume it's junk mail and throw it away,' he said. 'Read that and make sure that you didn't accidentally get signed up for something.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Southwest Missouri officer accused of falsifying charges in fatal hit-and-run
McDONALD COUNTY, Mo. — A southwest Missouri police officer is the subject of a criminal investigation leading to felony charges. Rhonda Wise, a Senior Deputy Marshal with the Noel Marshal's Office, is charged with one count of perjury. On Tuesday, Prosecuting Attorney Maleia Cheney filed the charge, accusing Wise of lying on a criminal complaint. The case she is accused of falsifying involves charges filed against a McDonald County woman in a fatal hit-and-run crash in November of last year that killed Michael Pruden. The Missouri Highway Patrol conducted the investigation, and charges against that woman were dismissed after problems with the case surfaced. According to today's charge, authorities say Wise put false information about a broken headlight in the Probable Cause Statement filed in the Pruden fatality case. The trooper working the case said he questioned Wise about the serial number information she gave in her sworn statement (the PC). He said the evidence in that case found no serial number on the broken pieces of headlight found at the scene of the crash. Rhonda-Wise-Probable-Cause-Statement-Perjury-ChargeDownload Wise is currently on suspension from the Marshal's office and her future with the department is unknown at this time. DEVELOPING Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Finextra
5 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
UK fintech hiring surges
UK fintechs are set to increase professional hiring by 32% in 2025 despite challenging economic headwinds, according to Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft's latest fintech report. 0 While venture funding continues to underperform historical norms, particularly at early-stage levels, fintech employers are nonetheless proceeding with strategic hires. Growth is being led by product expansion, operational scaling and the maturing of several firms from start-up to post-revenue stages driven by regulatory shifts, cyber reforms and a potential renewal of UK-EU financial services. Risk and compliance hiring is projected to rise by 29% in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of growth. Within that, demand for financial crime professionals is set to jump by 50%, while fraud-related roles are expected to double. The uptick reflects heightened regulatory scrutiny and increasing operational complexity, particularly for firms with cross-border exposure. Technology-related hiring is also forecast to grow by 39%, with the most demand in engineering, IT management and development and cyber security. London continues to dominate hiring in this space buoyed by the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. As fintechs replace legacy systems and meet rising compliance expectations, system resilience and threat mitigation skills are in high demand. Hiring activity is varied across the sector. Several firms including FNZ, Wise, Deel, and Ebury Partners are expanding rapidly with headcount growth ranging between 40% and 120%. These firms are capitalising on product momentum and international expansion. In contrast, some fintechs are adopting a more cautious stance, reducing hiring in response to cost pressures and a less favourable fundraising climate. However, fintechs are prioritising strategic hiring: investment is being channelled primarily into high-impact roles in compliance, product engineering, and IT security, whilst generalist functions remain stable or are subject to cost review. Mark Astbury, director, Morgan McKinley UK comments: 'Despite investor caution and geopolitical uncertainty, the UK's fintech sector is powering ahead with one of its strongest hiring outlooks in recent years. "A projected 32% rise in professional vacancies, led by London but echoed nationwide, signals a market shifting from rapid-fire scaling to more deliberate, strategic expansion. This isn't a hype-driven rebound, it's a grounded response to real-world pressures. The surge in fraud risk and compliance roles, alongside double-digit growth in IT security and engineering, reflects an industry maturing in response to both opportunity and obligation."
