SWIFT eliminates friction in international payments
SWIFT has announced the go-live of a service that will enable banks to verify payee account details before an international payment is sent, removing a key point of friction in cross-border transactions. The new Payment Pre-validation service is a core building block...
Digital crucial for bridging the insurance gap
In South Africa, the divide between rural and urban citizens is significant. By Greg Gatherer, account manager of Liferay According to research from the Treasury Department, rural areas have much lower GDP per capita levels and higher rates of unemployment. They also...
On the road to crypto-asset regulation
The recently-published Crypto Asset Policy Paper lays out the types of crypto asset service providers that will be subjected to regulatory oversight and how they will be supervised, writes Seshree Govender, senior associate at Webber Wentzel. On 11 June 2021, the...
How self-service helps insurers cut costs and time
Standing out in a competitive industry like insurance is a challenge. To remain competitive, insurers must understand how to successfully serve their customers while keeping costs low. It's for this reason that there is an increasing demand for self-service options....
How personalisation is shaping the future of banking
Industries around the world are moving towards the personalisation of services. Today, information is power, and big data collection allows organisations to personalise customer experiences, writes Andrew van der Hoven, head: digital and e-commerce consumer and high...
The future of hyper-personalised banking products and services
Retail banks are under increasing pressure to innovate and personalize their products and services for the benefit of their customers, yet at the same time they are subject to rapidly developing laws and regulations concerning the protection and processing of their...
Digital can help insurers widen their net
There can be no doubt that South Africa is massively underinsured. That's true of healthcare, where around 80% of the population has no form of private health insurance. By Greg Gatherer, account manager at Liferay It's also true of life and disability insurance, the...
Digital communication helps insurers bridge the relationship gap
Traditional insurers have never faced as much competition for their customers' attention as they do now. By Ross Sibbald, commercial director: Africa at Striata A whole litany of tech-centric startups are coming for their lunch and they're doing so by making life much...
It’s not about big data, but big decision-making
In the days before big data, people used to run their businesses based on 'gut feel'. Many still do, writes Minnaar Fourie, commercial director at King Price Insurance. Then along came a tsunami of data, and suddenly everyone thought all their decisions were taken...
The importance of alternative data in a tough lending environment
The devastating economic impact of Covid-19 has created a much tougher lending environment for credit providers that now need to go far beyond traditional criteria when assessing risk and modelling future losses on credit granted. By Jaco van Jaarsveldt, chief...
Behaviour-based motor insurance with MiWay Blink
As the pandemic has dramatically accelerated the need for innovation in the global motor insurance industry, insurer MiWay and mobility risk intelligence company Zendrive, have partnered with system integrator DSG. Idle cars have raised consumer demands for fairer...
Here’s how financial services companies can benefit from eSignatures
The events over the past year or so, have forced financial services companies to rapidly adapt and evolve the way they interact with customers. By Brent Haumann, MD of Striata Africa Without being able to offer any kind of in-person experience (and people unwilling to...