The power of a seamless payment journey

Your background spans health insurance, international student services, and entrepreneurship. What brought you to Flywire, and specifically to lead insurance?

When you look at international insurance, particularly cross-border health and travel cover, payments are often treated as a backoffice utility rather than a core strategic lever. During my time running nib health fund’s international business, I saw firsthand how a policyholder’s payment options can have a direct impact on their decision to purchase.

Cross-border payments are fraught with high FX markups, hidden bank fees, and limited local payment options – all of which create friction right at the start of the customer relationship.

Flywire recognised that payments and insurance aren’t separate problems; they are part of the exact same customer journey. Joining Flywire was a natural step because it allows me to help insurers transform crossborder premium receivables from a pain point into a competitive advantage. Which is exactly what I did at nib. By optimising the payment experience, insurers can reduce costs and drive growth without having to reinvent their entire operating model.

You've built startups within larger organisations and launched your own ventures. How does that experience shape your approach to building Flywire's insurance business?

It taught me that you don't always need massive, expensive overhauls to create huge value; playing at the margins through continuous improvement often delivers significant ROI.

When I took over nib’s international student health insurance business, it was struggling. We didn't turn it around by spending a fortune on radical new concepts.

Flywire recognised that payments and insurance aren’t separate problems; they are part of the exact same customer journey

Instead, we focused on the tactical details that competitors overlooked – specifically simplifying the payment journey for international payers and removing friction for distribution partners. That focus helped us grow market share from 0% to 20%.

At Flywire, that same principle applies. We help insurers realise that optimising premium collection is a low-lift, high-impact tactical change. By focusing on the payer’s end-toend experience, insurers can achieve significant gains in efficiency and conversion without blowing out their IT budgets.

The insurance space has evolved significantly. Where do you see the gaps, and what role should payment solutions play in closing them?

The biggest gap in cross-border insurance is the friction hidden inside the premium collection process. For many global insurers, international receivables involve high transaction costs, manual reconciliation, and payment declines due to cross-border card restrictions.

Payments shouldn't be an afterthought – they are often the most frequent interaction a customer or broker has with an insurer.

We help insurers realise that optimising premium collection is a low-lift, high-impact tactical change

A modern payment platform closes these gaps by acting as a genuine point of differentiation:

• Transaction cost savings: replacing high credit card processing fees and inefficient bank transfers with localised infrastructure dramatically reduces overhead

• Payer choice and differentiation: offering 1,200+ trusted local payment methods across 240+ countries gives policyholders the familiarity they expect, directly driving higher conversion rates over legacy competitors

• Lower payer FX and fees: eliminating hidden foreign transaction and intermediary bank fees directly lowers the total cost out of pocket for the payer

• Reduced administration: having full trackability of payments and removing allocations issues due to truncated payment details from banking partners – which results in less payer frustrations.

You've operated internationally – India, China, across Southeast Asia, North America, Europe. How does that global lens influence your thinking on insurance?

It reinforces that a one-size-fits-all approach to cross-border receivables simply fails. In markets like China or India, asking a payer to settle a premium via a standard international wire transfer or credit card introduces friction, high FX costs, lost payments and delays. There are still many markets with low penetration of credit cards and often insurers don’t offer other options.

When you understand the regional nuance, you realise that giving policyholders access to local payment rails – whether that’s WeChat Pay, UnionPay, or local bank transfers – drastically improves payment success rates and customer satisfaction. It protects members from paying up to 6% more than expected due to unnecessary foreign transaction fees, while ensuring the insurer receives the exact expected amount without manual reconciliation headaches.

What should institutions in the insurance space be looking for when evaluating insurance and payment partners?

Insurers should look for partners that deliver strategic value across both the balance sheet and the customer experience:

• Direct cost reduction: look for solutions that cut transaction fees and significantly lower credit card processing costs

• Payer-centric flexibility: ensure the partner offers localised, trusted payment methods in the payer’s native currency to eliminate surprise FX fees

• Ease of integration and automation: a strong platform shouldn't require complex IT lift; it should seamlessly integrate into your existing workflows, automate reconciliation, and minimise administrative failure demand.

There are still many markets with low penetration of credit cards and often insurers don’t offer other options

It comes down to recognising that a simple, tactical refinement in your payment journey can create a genuine point of difference against competitors without requiring massive capital expenditure.

What are you most excited about as you enter this space?

I’m excited to show insurers how much untapped value is sitting in their receivables process. Payments are often overlooked, yet optimising them allows insurers to reduce operational costs, boost policyholder retention, and gain a distinct competitive edge in the global market. Helping international insurers turn payment friction into a runway for growth is incredibly rewarding.