Panagiotis Kriaris

We are getting close to the weekend that so many of us in payments have been waiting for: the end of the ISO 20022 coexistence period in the Swift network. Years of preparation, migration projects, late nights, and endless testing have brought us to this moment. This is a major milestone for the industry, but it is also the point where the real value creation begins. Richer data is only the starting point. What truly matters is how we use it to improve quality, safety, and efficiency across every payment flow. I have had the pleasure of writing a new joint blog with Ulf Persson from SEEBURGER, where we dig deeper into what comes next and why validation is now the heart of payments modernization. Check it out below.

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Cross-border payments are notoriously complex. UniCredit’s decision to embed Wise Platform directly into its app is a smart example of how banks can modernise with fintechs, not compete head-on. They retain the customer relationship while outsourcing FX, compliance, and payouts to a trusted fintech partner - no small feat given the challenges of real-time speed, transparent pricing, and seamless settlement. What I like most is how effortless it feels for the end user - no redirects, no clunky UX, just transparent FX and real-time speed, fully embedded in the UniCredit experience. It’s a clear sign of how the cross-border payments landscape is evolving. This approach aligns closely with themes from my recent article on the future of cross-border payments and next-gen clearing banks - https://lnkd.in/gFH8vdHP Curious to hear how others see this shaping the future of banking and fintech collaboration. #CrossBorderPayments #FintechPartnership #UniCredit #WisePlatform #PaymentsInnovation #RealTimePayments #CustomerExperience #NextGenClearing #BankingTransformation

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We have a great partnership with our customer, Ratepay. That partnership has delivered impressive results: a 99% reduction in false positives and 50% reduction in SAR filing time.   Ratepay started out using the Hawk Payment Screening solution, before chosing Hawk also for AML Transaction Monitoring – adding new capabilities easily is one of the big benefits of Hawk’s modular platform.     This new case study tells the story: https://lnkd.in/dc_uExag   As a white label BNPL provider, Ratepay had a number of challenges:  Managing complex transaction lifecycles from checkout to merchant payout  Handling a wide range of customer risk profiles and compliance expectations   Maintaining regulatory readiness while scaling operations efficiently  With Hawk’s Payment Screening and AML Transaction Monitoring, Ratepay was able to achieve:   99% reduction in false positives   50% faster SAR filing   3x suspicious activity coverage, without added headcount   A great example of what happens when you combine modular infrastructure with real-time screening and a deep understanding of exactly how payment companies operate.   I think Denny Axt at Ratepay says it best: “So many providers don’t understand the level of flexibility that is needed to support us with our regulatory requirements. They can’t provide the agility that fintech companies need... Hawk understands that we don’t function like a traditional bank and can adjust to meet our needs.”   A big thank you to Denny and all the team at Ratepay for your great collaboration and partnership. We have been working together for quite a while and I'm very much looking forward continue working with you and team in the year's to come!

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I very much enjoyed this year’s Sibos in Frankfurt. It was inspiring to see the entire banking world come together in one place, with plenty of idea sharing and exciting announcements. I also had the pleasure and privilege of speaking on the Exhibitor Stage. Many thanks to DekaBank for sponsoring the presentation slot and the ticket. From my presentation I would like to emphasize in this post the slide on innovation, fragmentation, divergence, and convergence. Innovation rarely begins with order. In the DLT for the financial industry field today, we see a highly fragmented landscape: diverse networks, competing standards, and siloed approaches. This is where the market is right now. It's important to note that fragmentation is not a failure. It is experimentation at scale. Governance, regulation, identity, interoperability, and technology foundations are all being tested in parallel. Every initiative adds knowledge, but also complexity. The next phase is convergence that cleans up the fragmentation, because trust, liquidity, and adoption demand consolidation around shared standards and interoperable models. This does not mean a single global system. A globally unified infrastructure is neither realistic nor desirable given the diversity of jurisdictions, institutions, and use cases. Instead, what will emerge is a set of interconnected clusters. Ecosystems built on common foundations, linked by interoperability, and reinforced by regulation and governance. The way forward is clear: the winners will not be those who build the tallest walls, but those who build the open, neutral, and compliant platforms. This year’s Sibos and the announcements around it are for me a strong signal that after more than a decade of valuable divergence and exploration we are now taking the curve into a phase of convergence and consolidation. In this spirit, the Regulated Layer One is making its contribution to Europe by balancing out compliance, neutrality and openness.

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Instant payments in Europe are finally having their moment 👏 With the Instant Payments Regulation, SEPA Instant is shifting from a nice‑to‑have to the default: always on, at the same cost as standard transfers, and built for real‑time money movement.   Our research suggests SEPA Instant volumes could overtake traditional SEPA Credit by 2030, driven by everything from everyday consumer payments to ecommerce and new automated payment flows from agentic commerce.   The real opportunity isn’t just compliance, it’s what the industry builds once real‑time becomes the baseline.   Thanks to GlobalData Plc, I’ve shared more on why this is a real inflection point for European payments here 👇 ClearBank Tom Phillips #payments #fintech #sepa

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#AMLCFT German central Bank’s push for more effort towards AML prevention led by transaction monitoring automation. Going forward, FIs need to automate the process. AI and ML can play decisive role for compliance teams involved in TM and CDD/EDD. Juan Markus

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Good overview of a shift that's been building for years but is now genuinely accelerating. A few things worth adding from a product perspective: The "no chargebacks" point is real and significant for merchants — but it's a double-edged sword for consumer adoption. Chargebacks exist because consumers need recourse. Without a credible dispute mechanism, pay-by-bank will struggle in segments where trust is still being built (think first-time eCommerce buyers or cross-border transactions). This is one area where schemes like Wero will need to invest heavily to close the gap with cards. On the cost argument: lower MDR is compelling on paper, but the total cost of ownership includes integration complexity, reconciliation, and refund flows — which are significantly more straightforward on card rails today. A2A refunds are still a pain point that many payment product teams underestimate before going live. #SEPAInstant #PayByBank #Payments #Fintech

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I had a great conversation on the Leaders In Payments Podcast about why businesses underestimate payments strategy, and how that can quietly become a competitive disadvantage. If you work in fintech, banking, or global commerce, this discussion is worth your time! 👉 Watch the full episode: https://lnkd.in/dmCJcGrk

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