The Future of Instant Cross-Border Payments
Manuel Sandhofer — General Manager, EMEA at Wise
Wise Platform, a global tech company specializing in fast, low-cost cross-border payments, emphasizes direct access over indirect intermediaries to enhance payment speed, transparency, and reduce costs and compliance risks. Operating in 70+ countries with six direct connections, Wise processes £145 billion yearly at 20% growth, achieving 65% instant payment rates, improving them annually by 5%. Collaborating with major banks (Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley) and fintechs (Nubank, Monzo), Wise leverages its 14-year infrastructure to support enterprise, SMBs, and personal accounts, driving efficiency and customer satisfaction globally.
"Payments should be instant, fast, and low cost. With direct access, you have full control, transparency, and efficiency—knowing exactly where the money is, reducing costs, and enhancing customer satisfaction."
Summary
- Cross border payments are complex, large opportunities exist, and traditional banks often fail to solve them efficiently. - Wise offers instant, transparent, low-cost cross border payments through Wise account, business, and enterprise platform. - Direct access via local licenses is faster, cheaper, more transparent, and operationally efficient than indirect access through intermediaries. - Wise has 6 direct connections globally, 70+ licenses, processes £145B yearly with 65% payments arriving instantly, growing 20% YoY. - Large banks and fintechs like Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, Nubank, and Monzo trust Wise's infrastructure for cross border payments.
Article
Wise executive unveils blueprint for revolutionising global payments at Nordic Fintech Summit
Manuel Sandhofer details how direct access infrastructure is transforming cross-border transactions
The future of cross-border payments lies in bypassing traditional banking intermediaries in favour of direct connections to local payment systems, according to Wise Platform's EMEA General Manager Manuel Sandhofer, who delivered a compelling vision for the sector at the Nordic Fintech Summit in May 2025.
Sandhofer, addressing attendees at the prestigious fintech gathering, outlined how the industry's reliance on multiple intermediaries has created a system that is "slow, costly, operationally inefficient, and often not transparent" for consumers and businesses alike.
"Sending money across borders should be as convenient and fast as sending an email," Sandhofer told the audience, highlighting Wise's mission since its founding in 2014. "Cross-border is complex. The opportunity is massive, and traditional banks are not solving it yet in the right way."
The direct access advantage
At the heart of Sandhofer's presentation was the distinction between indirect access – working through intermediaries to facilitate international payments – and direct access, where payment providers secure licences to operate directly in local markets.
"With direct access, you offer extremely fast payments, full transparency, reduced costs, and complete control in the market," he explained, citing dramatic improvements after Wise integrated directly with the UK's Faster Payments Service. This integration resulted in 80% of payments arriving in under 20 seconds and a ninefold decrease in costs.
Similarly striking results emerged from Wise's direct connection to Hungarian payment systems, where instant payment rates jumped from 17% to 79%, while customer service inquiries dropped by 75%.
"If money is arriving instantly and you always know where it is, customers are less likely to contact you, reducing inefficiencies and operational costs," Sandhofer noted.
Nordic innovation at the forefront
Sandhofer paid particular attention to developments in the Nordic region, long recognised as a fintech innovation hub that has produced companies like Klarna, Pleo, and Trustly.
He highlighted the region's push toward deeper integration for instant payments, driven by the European Central Bank's TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) initiative. Sweden is leading this charge, with Denmark and Norway expected to follow – a development Wise eagerly anticipates.
"The Nordic region has always been a leading innovator, especially in the fintech space," Sandhofer said, emphasising how regional integration aligns with Wise's vision of instant, transparent, and low-cost global payments.
Global scale and impact
The scale of Wise's operations underscored the significance of Sandhofer's insights. The company is now licensed in over 70 countries, processing £145 billion annually with a growth rate of 20% year over year. Perhaps most impressively, 65% of all payments through Wise's system arrive instantly.
"We are licensed in over seventy countries, processing 145 billion pounds annually with sixty-five percent of payments arriving instantly, growing twenty percent year over year," Sandhofer told summit attendees.
This infrastructure has attracted partnerships with major financial institutions including Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, Nubank, and Monzo – evidence that even traditional banking giants are recognising the value of Wise's approach to cross-border payments.
Beyond technology: a shift in financial infrastructure
What emerged most clearly from Sandhofer's presentation was that the future of cross-border payments isn't merely about technological innovation but about fundamentally restructuring the financial infrastructure that underpins global money movement.
By establishing direct connections to local payment systems and securing licences in multiple jurisdictions, Wise has created a model that challenges the traditional correspondent banking system that has dominated international transfers for decades.
As the Nordic region continues to innovate in payment systems and more countries develop instant payment capabilities, Sandhofer's vision of truly frictionless global money movement appears increasingly within reach – not as a distant possibility, but as an emerging reality reshaping how money moves around the world.
Part of Nordic Fintech Summit