Must have features for an insurance customer self-service portal
According to a Gartner study, by 2022, 85% of all customer service interactions will start with self-service. For the insurance industry, it's become increasingly important to digitise the customer journey and offer tools that empower customers to find information,...
Advice for first-time share traders
Fred Razak, chief trading strategist for CMTrading, shares his thoughts on the evolving trading landscape in South Africa, and a few thought starters for budding local traders. I have seen the South African market galvanize and truly move forward over the past eight...
Fintech review and predictions for 2022
Fintech has gone mainstream and is no longer a niche sector. There are now over 26 000 fintech companies globally that employ half a billion people. By Dominique Collett, senior investment executive at Rand Merchant Investments and the head of AlphaCode The pandemic...
Low-orbit satellites could improve banking for developing world
Will residents of the developing world thank their lucky stars as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites start to usher in the next era of global digital transformation? By Anat Hoida, FICO MD: focused industries The cause of Africa's internet deficiency is, predictably,...
Insurance risk managers must embrace technology disruption
The accessibility of sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms, enabled by the high-performance capabilities of cloud-based data centres, mean insurers can more readily embrace a culture of innovation when it comes to their...
SA banking needs to create end-to-end SME solutions
While traditional banks express the intention to service SMEs, the inherent challenges faced financing SMEs means that the approval rate of disbursements remains relatively low, with outstanding loans to SMEs lower in 2020 than in 2016. SMEs' access to credit is a...
Digitisation is revolutionising the insurance space
The recently-released KPMG South African Insurance Industry Survey for 2021 has highlighted the role of disruption and innovation, with the majority of CEOs surveyed stating that they are looking to get on the front foot with regard to these twin challenges. Some two...
What if you haven’t planned for DebiCheck?
On 1 November this year, South Africa welcomed the introduction of the DebiCheck payment system to tighten measures against debit order fraud and abuse. But as with many new policies and procedures, there has been adoption, but it is far from universal. According to...
Xero, Investec launch digital bank feed
Small business platform Xero has partnered with Investec to give small businesses and their advisors access to financial data through a fully digital API-enabled bank feed in South Africa. The new feed is live now and is available to Investec private banking clients...
Fintech’s wave in SA is just starting to gain momentum
Looking at the current battle zones and where the next wave of innovation will emerge, C-suites have exciting options, but they must approach fintech correctly, writes Siphiwe Nodwele, MD of Yama Software. Fintech has lit a fire under start-ups and instilled fear in...
Intelligent technology streamline cyber insurance underwriting
Cybercrime is a rapidly growing challenge for businesses, one that is estimated to cost companies worldwide $10,5-trillion annually by 2025, up from $3-trillion in 2015. By Amritesh Anaand, practice lead for unified communication at In2IT Technologies South Africa is...
Unified insuree experience advantage key for insurers
With customers rapidly adopting digital communication channels that offer quick, simple and convenient processes, digitalisation of the entire insurance process is unavoidable. In fact, digital transformation for the insurance industry is no longer an option, but a...