CTO POV: What’s ahead for 5 industries in 2025

Co-workers, friends, and neighbors often ask me around this time of year what my predictions are for the upcoming year – in this case, 2025. Obviously, they are not asking me to predict global weather patterns or political trends 🙂, but what do I see as trends in FinTech within the markets that Flywire specializes in? Instead of answering everyone one-by-one, I decided to put down my thoughts in a blog.

I find it fun to delve into the speculation of the “what if” that could change the world of FinTech and more so the B2B, Global Education, Healthcare, and Travel verticals that Flywire specializes in.

One thing runs across all of them – that big question of AI. Machine learning and AI technologies are maturing and some are becoming table stakes. For its part, generative AI will continue to grow and mature and work its way into many aspects of business. I can imagine a day where I go to bed, set my “AI Assistant” to monitor my incoming emails or Slack messages and prepare responses for me. When I wake up, I just review them and approve to send. That will save me a ton of time by not having to read every email or Slack. I will be able to train the system to “think in my voice” and respond like I would.

Will we achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) in 2025? AGI is a type of AI that has the ability to understand, learn, and perform any intellectual task that a human can do with reasoning and adaptability. OpenAI is alluding to the fact that they might have achieved this. As with all technology, there are pros and cons. AGI could accelerate scientific research unlike anything we have seen before and lead to breakthroughs in fields like healthcare, energy, and sciences in general. On the other hand, AGI could lead to job displacement which would cause a social and economic disruption. Like any powerful technology in the hands of bad actors, AGI could greatly increase security risks from advanced cyberattacks on organizations.

There are many things beyond generative AI that will, despite its grip on the headlines, be far more important to success for those who work in the industries we serve. Let’s delve into what I see happening in 2025 in Flywire’s core markets.

FinTech: Changes in finance are coming

• Personal Finance: I can imagine AI changing personal finance for many people. AI powered tools will help offer personalized financial advice, automate savings, and optimize investment strategies based on your preferences.
  
• Embedded finance: Financial institutions will continue to embrace embedded finance. Financial services will be seamlessly integrated into financial and non-financial products. This will offer more convenient and personalized user experiences.
  

• International payment innovations: By using AI we will see faster matching and movement of funds. We will be able to leverage AI for optimal conversion rates. Flywire is already investing heavily in these areas for improved performance.
• Risk management: Firms will adopt AI-driven models to predict risks in real time, from fraud detection to credit scoring, enabling faster and safer transactions.

Higher Education: Globalized learning and affordability

• Globalized learning: In many aspects of our lives, we have become adept at being “hybrid.” The hybrid learning model of blending online and in-person education will become the norm. However, it will extend – to where, say, I can take a class at my campus in the U.S. and then later take an online course in the UK.
• Personalized learning through AI: AI-powered learning platforms will enable tailored learning experiences that adapt to the students learning styles, needs, and preferences.

• Affordability gap will grow: Over the past 10 years, tuition has increased by 28% for public four-year institutions based on College Tuition Compare. Financial aid has not kept pace with the increase in tuition, and affordability options will become extremely important to students and families.
• Micro-credentials will become more popular: With the continued increase in tuition, a traditional college degree will continue to come under pressure. Many people will seek to get certifications and micro-credentials from institutions to advance their career and life-long learning.

Healthcare: The dawn of AI in healthcare – but affordability is still an issue

• Wearables and IoT: Wearables will continue to grow as a trend and monitor health metrics in real time and alert individuals and providers of potential issues before they become critical.
• AI-driven diagnostics: AI will become more widely adopted by healthcare providers, and it will revolutionize diagnostics! AI will be used to analyze medical images and predict issues from the data that is coming in from wearables. This will need to be balanced with consumer skepticism over clinicians using AI in care – as well as security concerns.

• Healthcare affordability: According to the Health Cost Institute, out-of-pocket spending per person has grown by 18% over the past 4 years. It will be imperative for providers to offer affordability options to their patients, such as payment plans and zero-interest financing options to pay for care over time.

Travel: Personalization and sustainability lead the way

The travel industry will shift to experience-seeking travelers that want a personalized experience while being eco-conscious. Travelers will want to leverage technology to make the payment experience and travel journey seamless.

• Personalized itineraries: Luxury travelers want personalized experiences. Agents will be able to use AI to input the personal preferences of their traveler to curate a personalized experience.
• Customized tech travel: When paying for a luxury travel experience I expect a luxury tech experience. Luxury travel needs to adopt the “Uber Model.” I have an app that allows me to curate my itinerary, meet my guides ahead of time, and track my progress on my trip and tip as I go through the app. The entire experience and payment journey should be integrated and seamless.

• Sustainable travel: This is a real thing. I experienced it personally in 2024 on a trip in Spain. The rise of short-term rental properties are causing housing price increases for locals. Travel shouldn’t hurt the local economy, but improve it.

B2B: Seamless invoicing and payments

Invoicing and payment will become more streamlined and transparent as businesses adopt advanced technologies.

• Dynamic payment options: Flexible payment terms, real-time FX quoting, and installment options will drive improvements in business payments.
• Seamless integration: The entire invoice-to-cash process must be seamlessly integrated. As soon as a payment is made against a digital invoice, the host system must be updated immediately.

• AI-driven payment automation: We will see the rise of AI in B2B payments to automatically match invoices and payments, to reduce errors and manual workload.
• Global expansion: Global business will continue to grow, and faster international payment solutions will enable companies to expand into international markets.

With the rapid speed of improvement in AI, the need for more personalization, and the further breakdown of global barriers in payments, we will see significant technological advancement and industry transformations. With Flywire’s investment in AI and our global payment network that can process 140+ currencies across 240+ countries and territories around the world, we are positioned to be the leader in these markets.