Banks have digitised the wrong things, and customers are paying for it
Technology has advanced. Human needs haven’t. The industry has confused removing friction with delivering care, writes Bradley Elliott, CEO of RelyComply. Your chatbot just told a grieving widow to check the FAQ. Somewhere, a product team celebrated the deflection...
Iress accelerates platform modernisation with Thoughtworks
Iress has announced a strategic partnership with global technology consultancy Thoughtworks to accelerate platform modernisation and unlock AI-enabled growth across its Wealth businesses. The partnership will support Iress in executing its strategy to modernise core...
Naked gives a final car insurance quote in ChatGPT
South African insurance platform Naked believes it has become the first company in the world to successfully develop and deploy a native app in ChatGPT that can provide a final, binding car insurance quote. The launch also appears to make Naked the first South African...
Experian announces Agent Trust for AI-driven commerce
Experian has launched Experian Agent Trust, a framework that establishes a secure, verifiable link between consumers and AI agents. As AI agents begin to search and transact autonomously, they introduce a fundamental challenge for businesses: how to trust an action...
Santam migrates insurance platform to the cloud
Short-term insurer Santam has become what it believes to be the first company on the continent to officially moved its core insurance platform to the cloud. The move marks a significant milestone in Santam’s digital transformation, after two and a half years of...
Insurance as an innovation enabler: why progress needs a safety net
Companies and individuals at the cutting edge of technology and advancement should not view insurance as an afterthought or grudge purchase, but rather as one of the most powerful enablers of innovation in the modern economy. This is the message from iTOO special...
Fighting fraud with intelligence
In its 2024 Annual Report, the Insurance Crime Bureau (ICB) warned that fraud and organised crime costs South African insurers up billions if not actively disrupted. The actual true cost of fraud echoed by the ICB extends far beyond financial losses, it impacts...
Redefining compliance to build trust and growth in microfinance
South Africa’s microfinance sector is operating in an increasingly complex risk environment. By Fatgie Adams, head of credit risk solutions, and Darin Naidoo, head of microfinance at TransUnion South Africa Fraud schemes are becoming more sophisticated, compliance...
AI is rapidly transforming insurance, financial services sectors
Picture a rainy Wednesday morning in Sandton, sometime in the near future. By Kim Rew, partner, and Jered Shorkend, associate at Webber Wentzel A claims handler opens their laptop, and right away, things move much faster than they used to. For every new email, the...
As SA invests in digital payments infrastructure it misses a key layer
South Africa is making meaningful progress in building out its digital payments infrastructure. But there is a critical gap in how this investment is being framed, writes Mpho Sadiki, MD: merchant services, Africa at Network International and Payfast by Network....
2026 will be the real test of supplier due diligence in SA
South Africa's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025 marked a critical turning point for the country's financial credibility. But for businesses, particularly procurement and compliance teams, the real test is only beginning. If...
Banks are already using agentic AI: here’s why it matters
Rewind just a few years and large language models and generative artificial intelligence were barely on the public radar, yet the technology has already evolved into its next iteration: agentic AI, a new breed of systems that are semi- or fully autonomous and able to...