Venkatesh Saha, Wise, on payments, DigFin VOX Ep 6

Venkatesh Saha is Singapore-based head of international expansion and partnerships at Wise, the cross-border payments fintech previously known as TransferWise.

Saha speaks with DigFin about the challenges involved with entering new markets around the region, and the all-important relationships with regulators. He also touches the competition, navigating uneven payment systems, and how fintech is driving down the cost of remittances.

• Show notes:
• 0:00 – Venkatesh Saha, Wise
• 1:00 – Intro to cross-border payments, challenges
• 3:00 – Wise’s conversations with regulators
• 3:55 – When incumbents aren’t helpful
• 5:25 – Leveraging domestic faster-payments systems
• 7:25 – Are you scaling as you grow, or fragmenting?
• 9:45 – Are banks copying your tech?
• 11:00 – Visa/Mastercard partnerships
• 12:55 – Crypto competition to payment fintech
• 14:25 – Biometrics, eKYC, and databases
• 15:15 – Wise’s wishlist for business development