Big Data
Open Banking

Big Tech, Super Apps Redefining the Status Quo in APAC’s Banking Space

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 30, 2021

A major paradigm shift is taking over Asia Pacific’s (APAC) banking sector, driven by a changing regulatory landscape, the onset of open banking, and rising competition from big techs and super apps.
By leveraging data and ecosystem partnerships, these new entrants are redefining the status quo, bringing superior customer experiences and hyper-personalisation to the industry.
For APAC banks and financial incumbents to remain relevant, they must move away from the traditional product-centric approach to focus on servicing their customers.
This means creating a holistic customer experience and embracing customer data analytics to understand their needs and expectations at a granular level, Arvind Swami, Director of Business Development for Red Hat’s financial services vertical in APAC, told Fintech News Singapore in an interview.

Data is now “a precious commodity”
Banks sit on treasure troves of customer data that they’ve been collecting for decades. Although using this data to provide banking services is not a new concept, what has changed is that banks are now becoming more alert to the value this data can bring to their operations and customers.
Swami notes that the journey of data has evolved in this landscape.
Where data was previously used for analytical purposes to upsell customers, banks are now taking an outside-in approach by trying to first understand what customers want.
Arvind Swami
“That, I think, changed the perception of data from just being a commodity, to becoming a precious one,”
Swami said.
“In order to look at the customer outside-in, I need to have a lot more data available.”
Subsequently, it has also led to data becoming a critical asset for banking institutions that’s paramount in bringing about a tailored, seamless banking experience, he added.
This shift has largely been driven by technological advances, notably in the fields of data collection, storing and accessing, as well as the entry of tech-enabled firms including big techs and super apps into the finance industry.
Big tech, super apps transforming customer expectations
These players are leveraging their extensive ecosystems and using customers’ data to deliver better customer experiences and improve operational processes.
This includes, for example, using social media and transactional data to risk-assess loan applicants, and using data to better target financial products to customers, at the exact time they need them.
The rise of super apps present a “classic example of how data can be used,” Swami says. The trend of ‘customer obsession’ brought about by these companies have led to consumers now having similar expectations from other sectors, including banking and financial services, he explains.
Super apps are a new breed of tech giants emerging out of APAC. These apps essentially serve as a single portal to a wide range of products and services. The most sophisticated ones, like WeChat and Alipay in China, bundle online messaging, marketplaces, and services together.
Because of their versatility, super apps have quickly become ingrained into users’ daily lives, and are now making inroads into the financial services space, providing digital payment capabilities, loans, insurance products, and more.
On the flip slide, although traditional banks have huge amounts of customer data, their siloed data and mainframe technology estates have affected their ability to process that data to drive insights and customise customer service, Swami said.
“Banks have been collecting a huge amount of data for a very long time. But the challenges for financial institutions have been around data silos,” Swami said. “They could not have a full view of their customer behavior.”
An evolving regulatory landscape
Banks have historically been reluctant to embrace open banking and data sharing, but new regulations in jurisdictions including South Korea, Australia, and India, are now mandating them to open up their customer accounts to other companies.
This changing regulatory landscape is bringing about the open financial data movement. By allowing a large pool of players to access customer accounts and data, open financial data offers customers greater flexibility in how their money is being managed, allowing better visibility of accounts and a more convenient access to payments.
“The government and regulatory bodies are trying to foster an environment where openness is embraced, and is, in some ways, nudging them into doing it,”
Swami said.
“If customers’ personal financial data are being shared through a government portal, as in the case of SGFinDex for example, then banks have no choice, the ones that do not comply will automatically come under the scanner of the regulatory authority.”
Across APAC, China has been a frontrunner in open banking despite the lack of regulation, Swami said. Singapore and Hong Kong have also been moving at a decent pace.
Rise of open data regulation
In Australia, deployment and adoption of open banking have been slower because of a huge pushback from the “Big Four” banks, and regulators also took some time to refine the Consumer Data Right (CDR) legislation.
“This means that they will not just apply it to financial service institutions but to other industries as well,” Swami said.
He noted, however, that his firm, which specialises in enterprise open source solutions, has had “very good interactions with some of the Australian banks.” These banks are looking to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to understand customer behavior and provide superior customer experiences.
“One of the largest banks in Australia is taking a view that they don’t want to turn into a utility bank, or a white-label services provider, but to be at the forefront of the customer journey,” Swami indicated.
In Australia, Red Hat has worked with Heritage Bank, Australia’s largest customer-owned bank, helping them deliver a new real-time payment platform for the nationwide New Payment Platform (NPP) 10 months earlier than the average financial institution in the country.
Macquarie Bank, as well, chose Red Hat. Leveraging the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, Macquarie Bank was able to bring its applications and services to the cloud, enabling it to significantly reduce application development lead times, increase customer centricity, and improve efficiency.
Open banking to improve financial inclusion
In Southeast Asia, where half of the population is unbanked with no access to financial products, open banking has the potential to bring millions of low-income people into the formal financial system and improve their ability to engage with the real economy.
However, despite the potential of open banking in Southeast Asia, development has been slower than more mature markets because of the lack of clarity on regulations, Swami said.
In Thailand, although the government has been supportive of digital transformation initiatives in the finance sector, there are still no formal guidelines around open finance.
In Vietnam, banks are becoming increasingly aware of open banking, and recognising the need to embrace open APIs, but there’s been no real commitment from the government nor regulators so far.
Having said that, Southeast Asian startups have brought about some breakthroughs in this space. For instance, universal data API provider Brick raised a seed round this year from a number of investors, including prominent startup C-Suite execs. They’re not the only ones in this space either, joined by the likes of Brankas and Finantier.
Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy, issued its framework on open banking in August this year. Accordingly, 16 banks and payment firms have been mandated to adopt open APIs by June 2022, with full adoption expected by the rest in 2025.
In Southeast Asia’s tech capital Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been proactively promoting the use of open banking APIs through initiatives such as the Financial Industry API Register.
These are early steps, but as Swami points out, there’s much more work to be done in this space.
“Southeast Asian markets have huge potential. Indonesia is one such market when it comes to scaling, but it is also highly regulated,”
Swami said.
“Indochina – Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos – on the other hand, has the potential to develop a variety of financial services that can support the unbanked, but a huge amount of work will need to go into developing the infrastructure and networks needed to support it, as well as increasing acceptance of these services.”

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Open Banking
Sponsored Post

Three Reasons Why APIs Are Driving Fintech’s Stellar Growth

									by Rupert Shaw, Chief Commercial Officer at Ding
September 10, 2021

Startup funding is currently flowing at an unprecedented rate, and fintech is turning out to be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
In the first quarter of 2021, Singaporean fintech startups saw a surge in funding of over 350% compared to the previous year, and Golden Gate Ventures has forecast that Southeast Asia will produce a record number of exits over the next few years, with fintech one of the most significant drivers.
The role of APIs in this rapid growth cannot be understated. If financial applications can be imagined as a vast sprawling city of skyscrapers, then APIs are the roads and rails that make it easy for citizens to move between them.
At Ding our API is used by partners all around the world to add international mobile recharge – which is the best value micro-value transfer option in the world.
Integration takes minutes and companies can be up and running selling airtime, which among other things has a very good entry point for the customer relationship, given the average acquisition costs and also allows partners to efficiently cross-sell customers on other remittance services.
It also helps to move an app towards more of a one stop shop – giving customers more of a reason to stay longer and buy more.
For fintech firms, failing to tap into the opportunities of APIs is akin to being one of the buildings out in the suburbs, detached from the transport network.
Sure, you may get a few visitors, but you’ll miss out on the vast amount of passing traffic that comes from being integrated as part of the network.
However, aside from virtual curb appeal, there are plenty of other benefits for firms adopting an API strategy.
1. Adaptability and Fast Innovation
A 2020 Google Cloud survey found that companies using API-first strategies reported faster innovation and greater value from business partnerships.
APIs give firms the ability to share their features and data with one another, meaning it’s easy to experiment and quickly bring new services to market without putting all the time and investment into building them in-house while also accessing a wider pool of customers.
With a integration with the Ding top-up API companies instantly gain access to a global customer base of 6 billion prepaid mobile users.
Furthermore, the ability to innovate rapidly and with low overheads means that a successful API implementation can start delivering a return on investment in a very short space of time.
In fact, revenue increases from API initiatives are estimated to be eighteen times higher than other digital initiatives.
Conversely, if something doesn’t work, there are significantly lower sunk costs, making innovation less risky.

2. Deliver a Seamless Customer Experience
APIs provide firms with the ability to give their customers a truly seamless experience. One example of this is the “super app,” which offers multiple products and services operating together via one user profile.
China’s WeChat is perhaps the best-known, and others are following suit. One example is Careem, a ride-sharing app that operates in 14 markets across the Middle East and Pakistan.
The company was acquired by Uber in 2019, having built up businesses in ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, bicycle hire, and peer-to-peer money transfer.
Careem launched its super app in June 2020 and has seen a 900% increase in the number of customers using multiple services.
Ding is among several companies to have plugged into Careem’s super app via an API, which has enabled Careem to better retain customers.
Integrating APIs into a platform instantly enables companies to quickly and easily offer additional products and services.
This improves the overall service and experience for the customers by giving them an even greater range of services from within the one interface, including the sending of airtime or other purchases from this Careem Wallet as is the case with its partnership with Ding.
3. Fostering Collaboration
While a system of open banking inevitably promotes innovation, the trend towards using APIs also helps to foster collaboration between firms.
In an industry such as fintech, where the divide between “old” and “new” could have become adversarial, APIs provide a way for traditional financial firms and fintechs to work together.
A case in point is our recently announced partnership with Payit, the UAE’s first, fully-digital wallet powered by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
The partnership sees FAB become the first bank in MENA to offer mobile recharge to its customers, powered by DingConnect’s global mobile top-up API.
API partner programs may also offer benefits that go above and beyond the pure integration, providing opportunities for brand exposure or other cross-marketing efforts to new audiences.
Therefore, adopting an API strategy can also yield advantages that go beyond the face value of the collaboration.
In Ding’s case, as the #1 mobile top-up API provider, we pride ourselves on providing a simple API integration to enable our digital and retail partners to send mobilw top-up worldwide via their own websites and apps, giving them access to a global audience of six billion prepaid mobile customers, across 150 countries, while also helping more people from around the world to partake in the digital economy.
Fintech is a relatively new industry, and the onset of APIs and open finance is an even newer development.
However, they’re powering an unprecedented wave of innovation and funding and ushering in a new age of 24/7 mobile finance on demand.
If you would like to learn more about Ding international top-up API solutions and discuss business opportunities, send in your details here.

Featured image credit: Edited from Pexels

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


AI
Regtech

ADVANCE.AI Harnesses Dow Jones’ Compliance Solutions to Bolster Core Services

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 10, 2021

ADVANCE.AI, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) and big data company, has teamed up with Dow Jones, a global provider of news and business information, to strengthen its core suite of B2B risk and compliance products across South and Southeast Asian markets.
Under the partnership, ADVANCE.AI will integrate Dow Jones’ anti-money laundering (AML), risk and compliance data into its core suite of services comprising digital identity verification, risk and credit scoring, and digital lending.
The AI firm said that collaboration will enhance the robustness and efficiency of its product suite, which serves enterprises in the banking, financial services, fintech, payments, retail, and e-commerce sectors.
In a Reuters report yesterday, ADVANCE.AI is said to be raising about US$200 million from private equity firm Warburg Pincus in a funding round that will cement its status as a unicorn.

Founded in 2016, ADVANCE.AI currently serves over 1,000 enterprise clients across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and mainland China. The firm’s clients include Standard Chartered, Generali Group, Bank CIMB Niaga, Home Credit, Shopee and GoTo group.

Dong Shou
Dong Shou, CEO of ADVANCE.AI said,
“Combining Dow Jones’ AML and compliance data with our eKYC and risk scoring solutions improves the robustness of our one-stop digital identity verification (DIV) platform, which unifies our enterprise fraud and risk management solutions, and protects our enterprise partners from operational and reputational risks.”
Jan Coos Geesink
Jan Coos Geesink, General Manager Dow Jones Risk and Compliance said,
“As the risk of financial crime increases, access to trusted and timely data has never been more important. This partnership with ADVANCE.AI will provide customers with the information they need to better identify money laundering risks, and make even smarter decisions.”

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech
Sponsored Post

Singtel Dash, Etiqa Offer Free Insurance Coverage With Dash PET

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 23, 2021

Dash PET by Etiqa Insurance, an insurance savings plan created in partnership with Singtel Dash and Etiqa Insurance, has been helping users save better by providing access to high-returns savings in a low-interest environment since February 2021.
From 9 September, Dash PET users can opt in to earn additional 0.2% p.a. on their savings and get free insurance coverage for the first year of their Dash PET policy.
Keenly aware that savings and protection go hand in hand, Dash PET is providing selected policyholders a headstart on their personal finance journey with a complimentary coverage of up to S$50,000 for Death & Total and Permanent Disability in the users’ first Dash PET policy year.
Three new add-on protection plans have also been launched to help users get the coverage they need.
High-returns savings and insurance for everyone
In a survey that was conducted among Dash users, 50% of those aged between 17-24 years did not have insurance coverage.
With free protection added in the latest Dash PET update, the protection gap is now plugged with users gaining access to not only a high returns insurance savings product, but also comprehensive insurance coverage.
Catering to people from all walks of life, whether they are students, first jobbers, gig economy workers or seasoned professionals, users can start saving and insuring from as low as $50 and up to $30,000.
Dash PET is also an additional avenue for foreigners who are using Singtel Dash to remit money home, to earn more returns on their savings – all within the same mobile wallet app.
Dash PET
Some key benefits of Dash PET include:

High returns in a low-interest environment: Users earn 1.3% p.a. on the first S$10,000 saved, and 0.3% p.a. for savings above the first S$10,000
Capital-guaranteed savings: The savings put into Dash PET are safe against any fluctuations or macroeconomic factors
No lock-in period: Users enjoy the flexibility of topping up or withdrawing their savings anytime, which makes Dash PET an ideal place to store emergency funds.
Free insurance coverage: Users are eligible for up to $50,000 coverage for Death and Total Permanent Disability, COVID-19 coverage that includes vaccine side effects, as well as life protection of 105% of their account value

All users enjoy these benefits as long as they maintain a minimum account value of $50.
By introducing a low point of entry, Dash PET makes saving and insurance accessible to practically everyone.
Dash PET is also protected by SDIC, making it an even safer way to save and insure.
Bite-sized protection with full coverage
Dash PET policy holders who want more protection on top of the free protection can now do so with the three add-on protection plans.
With premiums starting from just $0.02 a day, users can enhance their protection with coverage in the following areas:

Major Cancer: Covers critical stage cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and sarcoma
Death & Total and Permanent Disability: Provides lump sum payment in the event of death or inability to perform three out of six Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
Accidental Death: Lump sum payment in the event of accidental death

Users pay on a daily basis but receive full coverage from S$10,000 to S$100,000 as long as their policies stay active.
Touted as a PET that ‘takes care of’ its owners, users can earn an additional 0.2% p.a. interest when they opt in for the free protection, and additional interest of up to 0.25% p.a. for each add-on protection plan that they activate.
Protect, Earn and Transact anywhere
Available exclusively on the Singtel Dash all-in-one mobile wallet, Dash PET helps users Protect, Earn and Transact conveniently whenever, and wherever they are.
Providing bite-sized insurance coverage, high returns on savings, and seamless transfers to facilitate payments, Dash PET is the perfect companion for users on their personal finance journey.
Available to all users regardless of telco, Singtel Dash can be downloaded from Google Play, the App Store, and the Huawei AppGallery.

Disclaimers:

*For the first $10,000 Account Value: 1.3% p.a. for the first policy year. For above first $10,000 Account Value: 0.3% p.a. for the first policy year. Crediting rate is non-guaranteed.
^Additional 0.2% p.a. to the existing 1.3% p.a. returns for your first S$10,000 Dash PET savings during the first policy year while the complimentary protection is active. Complimentary Accidental Death coverage will be offered for the same sum assured and duration if you are not eligible for this add-on protection. Sum assured will be based on your age and occupation.
#Additional interests of up to 0.25% p.a. from each activated payable add-on protection applies to the first S$10,000 account value of your active Dash PET policy.
This policy is underwritten by Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. (Company Reg. No. 201331905K). This advertisement is for general information only. Terms apply. Full details of the policy terms and conditions can be found in the policy contract on dash.com.sg/dashpet. Protected up to specified limits by SDIC. For more information on the types of benefits that are covered under the scheme as well as the limits of coverage, where applicable, please contact us or visit the Life Insurance Association (LIA) or SDIC websites (www.lia.org.sg or www.sdic.org.sg). As buying a life insurance policy is a long-term commitment, an early termination of the policy usually involves high costs and the surrender value, if any, that is payable to you may be zero or less than the total premiums paid. You should seek advice from a financial adviser before deciding to purchase the policy. If you choose not to seek advice, you should consider if the policy is suitable for you. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Information is accurate as at 9 September 2021.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech
Wealthtech

NTUC Income Launches Micro Investment-Linked Plan On SNACK App

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 17, 2021

NTUC Income, an insurance cooperative in Singapore, announced that it has launched a micro investment-linked plan (ILP) on the SNACK by Income mobile app.
Touted to be an industry-first, SNACK Investment adopts a stackable approach that allows consumers to build their investment portfolios with bite-sized premiums while providing insurance coverage as they go about their daily lives.
It is designed for those who are keen and eligible to invest but have not done so due to high barriers of entry, as well as those who are looking for options to diversify their investment portfolios.
SNACK Investment has pegged the minimum premium at $1 and also provides withdrawal flexibility at no additional fees and accidental death coverage with the sum assured pegged at 105% of the net premiums paid.

Users can link their desired micro-premium ranging from $1 to $10 to their selected lifestyle activities such as grocery shopping, taking public transport or even topping up petrol and start to build their investment portfolio and purchase units of the fund at the start of each week.
In the coming months, SNACK Investment will be expanded to allow greater flexibility to customers with the ability to customise their portfolio through fund switching and partial withdrawal.
Peter Tay
Peter Tay, Chief Digital Officer, Income said,
“With SNACK Investment, we are breaking down the conventional approach to purchasing an ILP by keeping the benefits that consumers desire, while at the same time increasing accessibility and lowering the minimum initial investment amount to just a dollar.

When customers have bigger risk appetites or have more liquidity in future, they can also supplement and further diversify their portfolio with conventional ILPs.”

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Funding
InsurTech

EDBI Joins bolttech’s Series A Extension Totaling to US$210 Million

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 22, 2021

Singaporean insurtech unicorn bolttech has extended its recently-announced US$180 million series A funding round, bringing the series total to US$210 million.
The previous round which was led by Activant Capital Group now adds two new strategic investors, Singapore-based global investor EDBI and Spain’s Alma Mundi Insurtech Fund.
bolttech said that bringing on these new strategic investors will also help strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia, Europe, and its other existing markets, as the business accelerates its international growth strategy.
The company powers connections between insurers, distributors, and customers to make it easier and more efficient to buy and sell insurance and protection products with a full suite of digital and data-driven capabilities.

bolttech has more than 7.7 million customers in 26 markets across 3 continents; North America, Asia, and Europe.
Rob Schimek
Rob Schimek, Group Chief Executive Officer of bolttech said,
“We are thrilled to welcome such high calibre strategic investors. They bring an extensive network and deep expertise in their respective markets which will help propel our growth and support our innovation for our partners and customers around the world.

Together with their partnership, we look forward to accelerating our international growth and realising our vision to connect more people around the world with ways to protect the things they value.”

Featured image: bolttech team

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Insurance Firms Losing Ground to Insurtechs as Funding Reaches All Time High

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 28, 2021

Despite rising coverage demand brought about by the global pandemic, customers are being left rather unsatisfied with the convenience, advice and reach offered by their existing insurance providers, creating opportunities for new players and insurtech firms, according to Capgemini and Efma’s World Insurtech Report 2021.
The report, which draws on research insights from surveys, roundtable discussions and interviews, claims that although customer intent to buy insurance rose 7% due to COVID-19, behaviors and attitudes towards insurers have changed.
Customer propensity to buy insurance heated up, Source: World Insurtech Report 2021, Capgemini and Efma
Today’s policyholders are looking for a frictionless digital experience throughout the entire insurance process and are increasingly turning to bigtechs for their insurance needs amid poor customer experience and unmet expectations, the research found.
Nearly 80% of the customers who participated in the survey mentioned convenience factors as catalysts to switch carriers, and more than 69% said they would change insurers after lackluster experiences in personalized advice as well as poor reach and engagement.

Findings suggest that once a policyholder decides to switch carrier, they are increasingly willing to opt for alternative coverage sources, with more than half of customers surveyed stating they are now prepared to buy insurance from bigtechs, insurtechs and other non-traditional players which excel in personalization and customer experience.
Policyholders evolved in 2021 and made the leap from willingness to action, Source: World Insurtech Report 2021, Capgemini and Efma
Insurtech funding reaches all-time high
This customer shift comes at a time when insurtechs and bigtechs are no longer perceived as newbies but rather as relevant industry players that are turning up the heat on incumbent insurers.
Over the past year or so, a number of insurtech startups went public via mergers with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) or initial public offerings (IPOs) on the back of surging activity, including Root Insurance, a car insurance company; Metromile, pay-per-mile car insurance company; Hippo Insurance, which specializes in coverage for renters; and Lemonade, which offers home insurance.
Insurtech SPAC mergers in the pipeline include CCC Information Services, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry; Kin Insurance, a homeowners insurtech startup; and Policygenius, an online insurance marketplace.
In addition to the flurry of public listings, insurtech companies have also closed massive fundraises. In H1 2021, global insurtech funding reached US$7.4 billion, exceeding the full year of 2020 funding (US$7.1 billion), according to risk management, insurance brokerage and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson.
Annual Insurtech funding totals, 2012 – H1 2021, Source: Willis Towers Watson
Driving 2021 funding has been the growth in mega-rounds of US$100 million and over.  Collectively, the 15 mega-rounds closed so far this year represented nearly US$3.3 billion or 67% of total funding of H1 2021. These rounds includes WeFox’s US$650 million Series C, Bought By Many’s US$350 million Series D, Collective Health’s US$280 million Series F, and Extend US$260 million Series C.
Increased collaboration
A range of investors has supported and enabled the insurtech wave, among which optimistic venture capitalists and private equity partners, reinsurers making long-term investments for new revenue opportunities, and traditional insurers looking to strengthen their capabilities.
Companies across various industries have also partnered with insurtechs to offer new digital solutions. HSBC Life, for example, teamed up with Dacadoo, a Swiss company specialized in digital health engagement and risk quantification, to encourage policyholders to be healthier and more financially fit. Ikea partnered with Swiss Re’s Iptiq to launch Hemsaker, an affordable and easily accessible home insurance, in Switzerland and Singapore. And Lyft started offering ride-sharing commercial insurance coverage in the US in October 2020 through a collaboration with commercial insurance company Mobilitas Insurance.
Research and advisory firm Gartner estimates that global IT spending within insurance will grow to US$210 billion in 2021. Long-term spending is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% to US$271 billion in 2025.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Australia
Funding
InsurTech

Aussie Insurtech Firm Cover Genius Closes US$50 Million Series C Led by Sompo

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 29, 2021

Cover Genius, an Australian insurtech firm and embedded insurance specialist, announced that it has secured a strategic investment of US$50 million during a Series C funding round led by Sompo Holdings Asia.
The round comprised primary and secondary capital, and was supported by G Squared, as well as Cover Genius’ early backers, King River Capital, Marinya Capital and Regal Funds Management.
The insurtech said that it will use the funds to bolster its global expansion and further its digital distribution channel in the embedded insurance market.
This will enable the company to offer tailored solutions to its customers by leveraging XCover, Cover Genius’ global insurance and warranty distribution platform.

Additionally, lead investor Sompo will also be combining its underwriting capabilities with Cover Genius’ licensing and technology. The partnership will kick off in Sompo Group’s 14 markets across Asia before expanding to its global network.
Cover Genius has licenses in all 50 US states and in more than 60 countries to co-create solutions that embed protection with its partners.
Angus McDonald
“We are eager to collaborate with a global partner, like the Sompo Group, that believes in the power of embedded insurance and its ability to offer new lines of protection to customers around the world.

This funding will enable us to scale our current offerings and continue our rapid growth as we enter into new markets with innovative solutions for embedded protection.”
said Angus McDonald, CEO and Co-founder of Cover Genius.

Featured image: Founders of Cover Genius

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech
Security
Sponsored Post

4 Must-Haves to Build an Effective Online Fraud Prevention and Detection Strategy

									by Mark Büsser, Chairman at IMTF
October 7, 2021

Financial crime has increased in recent years and is constantly evolving. With total combined fraud losses reaching a record high of $56 billion in 2020, financial organisations around the world are facing a growing challenge from fraudsters who are becoming increasingly sophisticated and inventive in their approaches.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also proven to be a fertile environment for fraud: the increase in e-commerce and digital transactions, coupled with a heightened sense of consumer vulnerability and anxiety, has created new channels for fraudsters to exploit.
To combat fraud, financial organisations have to deal with a significant volume of data, which is extremely complex and time-consuming to analyse. This has created the need for automated real-time fraud detection and prevention techniques.
With ongoing technological disruptions across various industries, regtech solutions have expanded greatly to assist financial organisations in identifying and preventing all types of financial crimes.
A comprehensive fraud detection and prevention solution must cope with very different scenarios, fraud typologies and channels by combining multiple capabilities of detection analytics and assisted investigation, to ultimately identify and prevent such attacks.
Traditional fraud detection systems often rely on hundreds of static rules that normally fail to detect new fraud patterns and create a large number of false positives alerts.
To make the difference and to be truly effective on an operational level, a fraud detection system must offer several key features:

The capacity to monitor all transactional and events from various channels in real-time, typically based on a smart combination of several technologies including dynamically updated profiles, advanced analytics and AI risk models
The capability to easily integrate and process non-transactional events from every stream and in every format (employee data points, phone calls, emails and more) and to score against a predefined, yet flexible, risk model
The integration of cutting-edge entity resolution (ID proofing) and AI-based matching algorithms
Efficient fraud operation thanks to investigation and case management tools, that do not negatively affect user experience

Efficiently setting up and managing a real-time fraud detection and prevention system requires a thoughtful strategy including all of the above features.
Based on these principles and combining IMTF’s industry expertise, the its regtech fraud detection and prevention module helps to deliver outstanding performance in a wide range of fraud areas such as online, payment and internal fraud as well as many other real-time detections.
Our fraud use cases and best practices include:

Application and claims (integrity of the login process to prevent account takeover) fraud
Enterprise payment fraud
Internal fraud, employee collusion, policy violations or theft
Online and mobile banking fraud
Debit and credit card fraud

The IMTF engine is a comprehensive offering based on a combination of advanced analytics, dynamic profiling, and machine learning including all necessary orchestration features.
AI scores and risk models spot and identify in real-time fraud and fraud attempts on any channel. Suspicious transactions are blocked in real-time, and alerts are immediately available in our adaptive case manager to the appropriate staff for swift and user-friendly resolution.
The key benefits of the IMTF’s regtech fraud detection and prevention module are:

An integrative approach combining various real-time models for a very high-quality detection of a variety of fraud types
Unrivalled operational efficiency and customer experience: the greatly reduced number of false positives results in fewer legitimate transactions being blocked for verification with all the undesirable consequences.

What is your method to stay ahead of fraudsters?

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Insurtech Firm 360F Appoints Peter Huber to Advisory Board

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 4, 2021

Singapore-based insurtech 360F announced the appointment of Peter Huber as a new advisory board member who will provide strategic guidance for the firm’s international expansion plans.
Huber’s current appointment as Chief Insurance Officer at wefox is backed by over two decades of accomplishment in the insurance industry.
He was most recently Chief Executive Officer for Zurich International, covering three of its key markets including the Middle East.
During his eight-year career in Zurich Insurance, Huber was also the CEO of Zurich Life Singapore as well as the Country CEO for Zurich Topas Life Indonesia.

Prior to his time in Zurich, he was the Regional General Manager, Life and Health for Allianz SE Asia-Pacific.
He also spent nearly ten years in Swiss Life Group in various business units.
Huber has a Masters degree in commercial law from the University of St. Gallen Switzerland, as well as a Masters degree in Finance from London Business School.
In 2005, he attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
Michael Gerber
“We are pleased to welcome Peter Huber to 360F.

Peter’s executive and international experience in the insurance space is instrumental to the industry’s reinvention and invaluable to 360F as we pursue our mission to entrench ourselves as the gold standard in financial advisory globally.”
said Michael Gerber, Chief Executive Officer of 360F.
Peter Huber
“360F brings to market the means to make financial advice consistent, accountable and intuitive to understand, rewriting the archaic rules of customer engagement in a traditional product-centric industry.

I am excited to have the opportunity to help this game-changing company become global. Optimal financial advice should be available anywhere for anyone.”
said Huber.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Blockchain
Digital Assets

Xfers’s Digital Assets Platform StraitsX Rebrands, Hits SGD 2 Billion in Transactions

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 11, 2021

StraitsX, a Southeast Asian digital assets platform developed by Xfers, announced that it has surpassed the SGD 2 billion mark in digital assets-related transactions on its payment platform in 2021 and will be rebranding its platform.
The new StraitsX platform features a redesigned and streamlined user interface to enable faster and more efficient navigation.
The StraitsX platform enables individual users to transfer, mint and redeem XSGD with a connected bank account, in addition to spending their XSGD with various digital asset platforms.
Businesses can also leverage APIs to collect, disburse and reconcile funds from their end-users.

StraitsX said that it currently supports over 10 digital asset platforms in Singapore through its API solution.
In October 2020, StraitsX launched its stablecoin – the StraitsX Singapore Dollar (XSGD), a digital token available on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchain that is backed one-for-one by the Singapore dollar.
In March this year, Xfers received an investment of US$30 million from Indonesian fintech startup PAYFAZZ to form a new financial entity called Fazz Financial Group (FFG). Both entities retained their respective names whilst operating under the new financial entity called Fazz Financial Group (FFG).
Recently, Xfers was shortlisted in the MAS Global CBDC Challenge together with its partner SEBA Bank to explore innovative retail CBDC solutions to enhance payment efficiencies.
StraitsX is a Singapore-based fintech licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for e-money issuance.
Aymeric Salley
Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, said,
“The growth in transactions shows that investors are increasingly exploring digital assets as an alternative form of investment that offers liquidity and returns.

Meanwhile, central banks around the world are examining the potential benefits of digital and decentralised financial systems.”

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Funding
InsurTech

Singaporean Insurtech Surer Raises US$1 Million in Seed Funding Round

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 14, 2021

Surer, a Singaporean cloud-based insurtech platform, announced that it has raised US$1 million during a seed funding round.
The insurtech raised the funds from Norwegian private investment company Kistefos, global specialist insurer Markel Corporation through its insurtech investing arm, Markel Digital Investments, and an angel investor.
Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm, also invested in Surer in an earlier round.
With the new funds, Surer intends to bolster its core technology platform and invest in its tech team to deliver on its product roadmap.

Since its launch, Surer said that it has over 350 intermediary signups and demo requests, more than 1,000 insurance proposals sent and over S$1.2 million in gross written premiums (GWP) transacted on its platform.
Surer expects to see the GWP transacted on its platform to cross the S$2 million mark by the end of 2021.
Launched in September 2020, Surer’s platform that has created a digital ecosystem where insurance intermediaries and insurers can leverage its technology to supercharge workflows, processes, recruitment and distribution of products.
Gordon Tay
“With the new funds, we believe Surer can further capitalise on our unique position to build a fully connected digital ecosystem that drives a ‘triple-win’ situation where policyholders can be served with greater quality because of a highly efficient intermediary sales force that can now scale their business without impediments which ultimately delivers more business for insurers. This digital ecosystem will eventually include merchants who wish to package insurance with the products they are selling.”
said Gordon Tay, Co-founder of Surer.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Cloud
Open Banking

Fintech Enablers are Fueling the Growth of Embedded Finance

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 25, 2021

Fintech “enablers” have exploded in growth and popularity in the last few years, bringing with them a new wave of innovation by democratizing financial services and expanding the fintech market opportunity.
Fintech enablers develop and provide cutting-edge technologies to various clients, allowing them to offer their own fintech services. Such platforms and solutions can be core infrastructure, customer onboarding solutions, or payments systems.
The growth of these companies has fueled trends such as embedded finance, where banking-like services are being offered by non-banks, as well as banking-as-a-service (BaaS), where banks themselves lease their infrastructure to various types of clients.
Today, these providers are powering some of the world’s fastest-growing consumer finance companies and digital banks, including Trade Republic, a German unicorn neobroker, Mynt, the lending arm of leading Filipino telco Globe Telecom, and TMRW, the digital banking offering of incumbent bank United Overseas Bank (UOB).

Venture capital (VCs) firms are seeing the value of modularizing banking and are pouring billion into startups in the space.
In India, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)-focused neobanking platform Open raised US$100 million as part of its Series C funding round earlier this month. The company said it will use the proceeds to strengthen and accelerate its new product line, which includes its embedded finance platform Zwitch and cloud-native banking platform BankingStack. Currently, BankingStack is deployed across 15 Indian banks, the company said.
In Singapore, business-to-business (B2B) payments platform Nium raised a US$200+ million Series D funding round in July, reaching unicorn status. Through a single API, Nium provides access to payments infrastructure, including technologies for pay-outs, pay-ins, card issuance, and BaaS, allowing banks, payment providers, travel companies, and other businesses to embed financial services in a timely manner. Nium owns licenses in 11 jurisdictions and claims to be serving hundreds of enterprise clients.
Data provided to Reuters by PitchBook show that, so far this year, investors have poured US$4.25 billion into embedded finance startups, almost three times the amount of 2020.
Partnerships as a growth driver
The key to the growth of fintech enablers is partnership, a vital component that has allowed them to create better products and better services for consumers, financial institutions and SMEs, says a new paper by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Financial Services, the UK’s fintech trade group Innovate Finance and VC firm Finch Capital.
The paper, titled Fintech partnerships and the technologies that enable them, looks at the rise of fintech enablers and delves into the critical role collaboration is playing in the fast-evolving financial landscape.
As competition intensifies in the financial services industry and as bigtechs including Google, Apple and Facebook are rapidly entering the space, partnerships have become critical to stay ahead in the ever-so crowded market, the paper says.
By partnering with the best companies specializing in specific technologies or verticals, financial institutions, incumbents, and fintech startups can save time and resources, improve product time to market, enhance user experience and reduce the overall learning curve, it says.
In particular, partnerships allow them to meet several key strategic objectives such as gaining access to new or improved technology capabilities, and helping them improve digital customer experience.
This is done by leveraging white-label solutions or by tapping advanced infrastructure or software provided by top fintechs, allowing for immediate access to the latest cutting-edge technology, faster go-to-market as well as the ability to reach new customer segments without inhouse development efforts or risk. Fintech enablers in these categories include Swedish open banking startup Tink, and cloud-based banking technology specialists Thought Machine and Mambu.
Partnerships also enable non-bank providers as well as large, established brands to start offering financial services. Through embedded finance, these firms can add value to their customer base and access new monetization opportunities. Klarna, the world’s leading buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform, is a relevant enabler in this area, allowing merchants to offer installment payment plans and increase sales.
Private equity firm Lightyear Capital estimates that in 2020, embedded finance generated US$22.5 billion in revenue. That figure is projected to increase 10 times, surging to an estimated US$230 billion by 2025.
Embedded finance forecast SOURCE: LIGHTYEAR CAPITAL

Featured image:Technology photo created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

NTUC Income Expands Micro Insurance Offering to Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 28, 2021

NTUC Income, an insurance cooperative in Singapore, made its first overseas foray into three Southeast Asian markets namely Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The company had formed partnerships with PT Central Asia Financial (JAGADIRI) in Indonesia, Post and Telecommunication Joint Stock Insurance Corporation (PTI) in Vietnam and VSure Tech Sdn. Bhd (VSure) in Malaysia.
These strategic alliances are built on Income’s Insurance-as-a-Service (IaaS) model that enables the company to bring digital-first insurance business models to partners overseas.
This enhances their speed-to-market, and equip them with the right capabilities and tools to capture new customer segments and revenue streams.

As part of Income’s strategic partnerships with JAGADIRI, PTI and VSure, these companies will be the first in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia to launch Droplet respectively across four cities including Greater Jakarta, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Kuala Lumpur.
Droplet is a micro-insurance product that is designed to address price surges on ride-hailing platforms during rainy days.
Andrew Yeo
Andrew Yeo, Chief Executive Officer at NTUC Income said,
“The market potential of countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam is huge given their relatively young populations and high mobile penetration rates. JAGADIRI, PTI and VSure are well-respected brand names in their respective markets.

We are honoured to have them onboard our IaaS model and look forward to bringing more ground-breaking insurance propositions to delight customers and plug the protection gaps in these markets.”

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

Manulife Launches New Lab of Forward Thinking Location in Singapore

									by Fintech News Singapore
September 29, 2016

Manulife has opened a new Lab of Forward Thinking (LOFT) location in Singapore. Singapore, a technology hub for Asia, hosts the third LOFT site for Manulife. The other labs are in Boston and Toronto.
The LOFT is a global exploration and incubation capability to build Manulife’s competitive advantages within the financial services industry – one ripe for disruption. The LOFT provides a platform for employees to collaborate and devise new technological solutions for the Company’s wealth, asset management, and insurance customers.

“We are using emerging technologies and platforms such as blockchain and artificial intelligence to build competitive advantages,” said Greg Framke, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Manulife. “Now that our Singapore LOFT has launched, our global innovation system can continue to explore new markets and build solutions that will benefit our customers around the world.”
In the last six months, the LOFT announced collaborations with ConsenSys and BlockApps to apply blockchain technologies to enhance the on-boarding of new wealth management clients. They have also announced partnerships with Nervana Systems and indico data solutions to develop artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies that enhance investment research.
Innovative initiatives, such as the LOFT, RED Lab and the creation of the new roles of Chief Analytics Officer and Chief Innovation Officer are part of Manulife’s strategy of putting the customer at the centre of everything we do, and provide solutions to improve the customer experience.
“Our goal is to become the most customer centric organization in our industry,” said Roy Gori, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Asia. “Through the LOFT, we encourage experimentation, incubation and collaboration to find the answers we need to best serve our customers.”
“Consumers in Asia are looking for tools and services to make their lives easier. There are tremendous rewards on offer for those businesses that take up the challenge. That’s why we chose to build a LOFT in Asia and Singapore, with its thriving start-up culture, is the perfect home for that investment,” said Gori.
For more about the Singapore LOFT, Singapore Lab 360° Video Tour

Featured image is from manulifelookingforward.wordpress.com

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Open Banking
Singapore Fintech Festival 2021

AFIN Launches Fintech Global Registry ChekFIN to Ease Open Banking Partnerships

									by Fintech News Singapore
November 9, 2021

The ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) announced the launch of ChekFIN, a global fintech registry aiming to assist Financial Institutions (FIs) in identifying and evaluating fintech companies for collaboration and development opportunities.
Created in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group Fintech Control Tower (BCG FCT) and Temasek-founded Affinidi, the registry is set to go live on the 1st December 2021.
ChekFIN is built using the latest generation of internet Web 3.0 services, and will provide a decentralised, open standard, and trust-based solution enabling and empowering financial institutions to reduce the amount of time spent searching for and assessing a suitable partner firm.
The platform includes unique features such as a comprehensive taxonomy and tagging system to facilitate easy search, easy access to aggregated and relevant information on firms in a single place, and the ability to assess their digital reputation and credibility using Verifiable Credentials (VCs) – a key element in ChekFIN.

Verifiable credentials are a form of digital certificate that are machine-readable, tamper-evident, consent-driven, cryptographically secure and can be used to represent any type of information about its holder.
When ChekFIN is launched, every fintech will be allowed to share three specific credentials to start with.
This includes business references from existing financial institution customers, hackathon and other technical awards, and funding support and grants obtained.
AFIN said that more VCs will be enabled and added in the future.
The platform will leverage BCG Fintech Control Tower’s assets, which tracks 27,000 fintech firms globally, providing insights to the fintech ecosystem at large.
ChekFIN will also use technology built by Affinidi, a firm that builds global ecosystems centered on identity and data using Web 3.0 principles.
The platform has ten industry partners working with APIX to issue the first set of verifiable credentials including BNY Mellon, Cantilan Bank, Credit Agricole, Emirates NBD, ING Group, OCBC, Prudential, Swiss Re, Union Bank of Philippines and UOB.
Serey Chea
H.E. Serey Chia, Assistant Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia and a member of AFIN’s Advisory Board said,
“With our proprietary technology and deep understanding of the needs of the fintech industry, we hope that the platform would bring about greater connectivity in the fintech ecosystem, globally.

In the long run, we hope that the platform would serve as a credible, reliable and trusted source of information for the fintech ecosystem and speed up adoption of new technologies by financial institutions to better serve their clients, fast-track financial inclusion and contribute to SDG efforts.”

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash

Check other breaking stories from Singapore Fintech Festival 2021 here
Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Blockchain
Digital Assets
Funding

Digital Assets Trading Platform Sparrow Raises US$4.4 Million Series A

									by Fintech News Singapore
November 12, 2021

Sparrow, a digital assets trading platform headquartered in Singapore, has raised US$4.4 million in Series A funding led by Gain Loyal, an investment company focusing on real estate investments in Asia.
The company intends to use the funds to create more innovative solutions and accelerate digitalisation to enhance the quality of its platform in terms of security, user experience, and compliance.
Sparrow also aims to attract talent in risk management, trading, technology, and operational excellence.
Additionally, Sparrow will also improve its KYC, AML, and CFT regulatory framework and continue to grow its workforce across all its functions.

As of October 2021, Sparrow said generated over US$3.5 billion of notional volume through its trading platform and the company had more than US$300 million of assets under management.
Kenneth Yeo
“We are pleased to have Gain Loyal Pte Ltd as our investor.

This long-term partnership puts us in a great position to boost Sparrow’s competitive edge to serve financial institutions and wealth managers better,”
said Kenneth Yeo, CEO of Sparrow.

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Blockchain
Digital Assets
Sponsored Post

Digital Assets Trading Platform Sparrow Offers PayNow Services for Institutional Clients

									by Fintech News Singapore
November 24, 2021

Sparrow, a digital assets trading platform headquartered in Singapore, announced that it now accepts PayNow transfers for institutional clients.
PayNow is a convenient and secure method of transfer which is in line with the high-security standards adopted by the local banks in Singapore.
With the increased adoption of cryptocurrencies, Sparrow aims to leverage an integrated, secure, trusted, and regulated platform for its digital asset transactions.
By adopting a safe and secure digital payments solution from a major local bank, Sparrow said that it is committed to building a sustainable trading platform that simplifies fiat and cryptocurrency conversions.
This is part of Sparrow’s constant drive to improve the user experience for every client.
To further optimise the trading journey at Sparrow, its technology stack marries web app development with efficiency and security.
Established in 2018, Sparrow works with financial institutions and family offices to design bespoke digital asset solutions to achieve customer-centric growth objectives, without compromising on financial reporting and compliance requirements.
Sparrow had applied for a Major Payment Institution License under the Payment Services Act in 2020.
Kenneth Yeo
“We have started to accept instant and fast funds transfer through PayNow’s secure facilities, making trading on Sparrow more convenient and secure.”
said Kenneth Yeo, CEO of Sparrow.
Liu Li
“We have adopted the industry’s best practices and designed a layered security architecture to provide multiple defensive measures against vulnerabilities and attacks,”
explained Liu Li, CTO of Sparrow.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


AI
InsurTech

Pand.Ai Unveils Bilingual Chatbot for Motor Insurance With Allianz, Etiqa, and MSIG

									by Fintech News Singapore
December 1, 2021

Singapore-based AI startup Pand.ai has unveiled GINA.sg, an English-Chinese bilingual WhatsApp chatbot that helps car owners find the most competitive motor insurance that suits their profiles.
This was done in partnership with 3 major insurance companies namely Allianz, Etiqa, and MSIG.
GINA.sg is offering digital brokerage services for general insurance under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Fintech Sandbox programme.
The company is also collaborating with the Singapore Management University (SMU) on a doctoral-level research led by Associate Professor Hannah Chang and James Tan, the former CEO of Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore (TMLS), to better understand consumer psychology and to optimise user journey for GINA.sg.

This chatbot is Pand.ai’s first foray into direct to consumers and plans are in the pipeline to progressively add more general insurance products.
GINA.sg can be contacted through WhatsApp using the number +65 8913 9033.
Chuang Shin Wee
“Traditional online aggregators typically do not provide personalised quotes that are essential for car owners to make purchase decisions, while offline human agents do not have the expediency and convenience that online channels offer.

With GINA.sg, we are proud to partner with Allianz, Etiqa and MSIG to not only enable car owners to receive multiple quotes from different insurance companies in one go, but to do it conveniently using WhatsApp, in a language that they prefer, and even receive up to $200 cash-back for each policy that they buy.”
said Chuang Shin Wee, CEO of Pand.ai.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Blockchain
Digital Assets
Funding

SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Fund Makes its First Investment Into Coinhako

									by Fintech News Singapore
December 8, 2021

The SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity (DAO) fund announced that it has made its first investment into Singaporean cryptocurrency platform Coinhako.
Japanese financial group SBI Holdings, Swiss-based digital asset bank Sygnum, and European asset manager Azimut Group had jointly launched the US$75 million fund based in Singapore to invest in startups in the digital asset sector.
The strategic fundraising round was three-times oversubscribed and attracted other prominent institutional investors including SBI Group.
Coinhako will be able to grow its team as it expands across Southeast Asia as well as accelerate its acquisition of a deeper and wider customer base in Singapore with Coinhako Privé, its recently launched institutional and high-net-worth offering.

SBI, Sygnum and Azimut will lend their combined expertise and wide-reaching networks across traditional finance and digital assets to support Coinhako’s expansion plans.
Coinhako recently received an in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital payment token services as a major payment institution.
The DAO fund is already eyeing several other potential investment targets.
Alice Mak
Alice Mak, Director of the Digital Asset Opportunity fund said,
“We are excited to have Coinhako as the first investment of the DAO fund.

As we continue to invest in top digital asset companies, the fund will provide them with a platform to accelerate their growth by leveraging the strength of our existing network and the future network of the fund’s portfolio.”
Yusho Liu
Yusho Liu, Co-founder and CEO of Coinhako said,
“Coinhako has been able to close our previous fund raises with prominent foreign venture capitalists, dating back to our angel round in 2014.

Today, we are excited to onboard a new set of strategic investors with a strong presence in Singapore to accelerate our growth in the financial hub and across the region.”

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Funding
InsurTech

The Biggest Insurtech Funding Rounds of 2021 in APAC

									by Fintech News Singapore
December 14, 2021

2021 has been a record year for insurtech funding. As of Q3 2021, more than US$10.5 billion had been raised by companies in the space year-to-date (YTD), surpassing 2020’s total of US$7.1 billion by nearly 48%, data from insurance advisory firm Willis Towers Watson show.
Annual InsurTech funding trends, including transaction volume and dollar amount, 2012 – Q3 2021, Source: Quarterly InsurTech Briefing Q3 2021, Willis Towers Watson
Global funding activity has been largely driven by mega-rounds of US$100 million and over, which amounted to a total of US$6 billion. Several of these mega-rounds took place in Asia-Pacific (APAC) where industry leaders in mature markets like India and China are closing massive late stage rounds ahead of public listings.
As the year comes to an end, we’ve compiled a list of the biggest insurtech funding rounds of 2021 in APAC.
Acko – US$255 million (India)

Indian insurance policy provider Acko reached unicorn status in October after raising US$255 million in a financing round. Acko develops and sells bite-sized auto insurance products, healthcare protections to employers, as well as protection on gadgets. The company covers millions of gig workers in the country through partnerships with companies including food delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato, and has amassed more than 70 million customers and around US$175 million in premiums.
Bolttech – US$247 million (Singapore)

Singapore-based Bolttech announced in September that it had raised US$210 million during a Series A fundraise which was then extended with an additional investment of US$37.2 million in December, bringing the total funds raised to US$247 million.
Bolttech provides a full suite of digital and data-driven capabilities, connecting insurers, distributors, and customers to make it easier and more efficient to buy and sell insurance and protection products. The company has built a global footprint that serves more than 7.7 million customers in 26 markets.
Digit Insurance – US$200 million (India)

Indian insurtech startup Digit Insurance raised US$200 million in July, taking the firm’s valuation to US$3.5 billion. Digit Insurance strives to make the process of getting cover, filing claims and payments easier using technology. It provides zero-touch claims enabled by audio claims, soft-copy document submission and full-time customer care assistance. The startup has over 20 million customers and processed approximately half a million claims.
Yuanbao – US$156 million (China)

Chinese insurtech startup Yuanbao unveiled in May that it had raised nearly 1 billion yuan (US$156 million) in its Series C funding round. Yuanbao uses big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to match customers with suitable products from domestic insurance companies. The company also provides a one-stop shop for health management, insurance consultancy and smart underwriting while aiding the settlement of claims. It claims it has amassed millions of paying users since its inception only last year.
Paytm Insuretech – US$127 million (India)

India’s Paytm Insuretech, Paytm’s general insurance business, closed a US$127 million investment from Swiss Re in October. Paytm Insuretech plans to leverage Paytm’s customer base and merchant ecosystem to develop innovative insurance products and offer best-in-class digital solutions. Paytm, which specializes in digital payment systems, e-commerce and finance, entered the general insurance business last year through the acquisition of general insurance company Raheja QBE.
Carrot General Insurance – US$88.7 million (Korea)

South Korea’s first digital-only insurance provider Carrot General Insurance announced in July a 100 billion won (US$88.7 million) funding round. Carrot General Insurance is a full-stack digital-only general insurance company, providing pay-per-mile and usage-based auto coverage, e-commerce shipment coverage, mobile phone protection and other on-demand insurance products. The company, which hit 200,000 customers for its pay-per-mile auto insurance cover in less than two years since launching the product, plans to expand to Southeast Asia with local partners in the coming months.
PolicyBazaar – US$75 million (India)

Indian online insurance marketplace PolicyBazaar raised US$75 million in funding, its United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Middle East expansion plans. PolicyBazaar is an online platform that allows users to purchase life and general insurance. It features products from major firms in India, and claims more than 100 million visitors yearly and 400,000 sales each month. P PB Fintech, the parent company of PolicyBazaar and lending platform PaisaBazaar, began trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange in mid-November.
Cover Genius – US$72.8 million (Australia)

Cover Genius, a startup from Australia specialised in embedded insurance, raised in September a A$100 million (US$72.8 million) Series C funding round. Cover Genius provides end-to-end embedded insurance to the customers of some of the world’s largest digital companies, including Booking, eBay, Wayfair, Intuit, and Shopee. The funding round came on the back of strong growth during which the startup tripled it gross written premium (GWP) in the span of only six months.
Sunday – US$45 million (Thailand)

Sunday, a Thai insurtech startup, raised in September a US$45 million Series B funding round. Sunday is a full-stack insurtech company providing motor and travel insurance policies, healthcare coverage for employees and subscription-based smartphone plans through partners. The company uses AI and machine learning (ML) to underwrite its insurance products and automate pricing. It claims to serve 1.6 million customers and more than 700 enterprises, and plans to use the new capital injection to expand its portfolio in Thailand and Indonesia.
RenewBuy – US$45 million (India)

Indian insurtech company RenewBuy raised in June a US$45 million Series C funding round. Through its subsidiary D2C Insurance Broking Private, RenewBuy enables retail customers to buy moto, health and life insurance products through an end-to-end digital experience. The company claims it has about 50,000 point-of-sale person advisors and insures over 2.5 million customers.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Regtech
Sponsored Post

Here Are the Key Findings From OneSpan’s Global Financial Regulations Report

									by Michael Magrath, Director, Global Standards & Regulations, OneSpan
December 17, 2021

OneSpan recently released its second annual Global Financial Regulations Report, that outlines major developments in the regulatory landscape.
In conjunction with comprehensive research into how the changing regulatory landscape is impacting the banking community, this year’s report also reveals how financial institutions are responding to new challenges presented by increasingly innovative hacking attacks, protecting sensitive data and evermore stringent regulations.
48% of financial institutions report that regulatory compliance has slowed digital transformation.
Source: OneSpan’s Global Financial Regulations Report 2022
Despite the major security and regulatory challenges institutions were faced with in 2021, 84% of banking leaders are taking steps to prepare for cutting-edge initiatives like Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) over the coming year.
In addition, half of banks are planning to implement mobile app shielding technologies to secure mobile apps in anticipation of upcoming CBDC initiatives.
Other key findings from the report:

Top compliance challenges for banks include: reducing or preventing cyber-attacks (53%); safeguarding sensitive data (47%), keeping pace with changes in consumer privacy laws and industry regulations (41%).
Almost half of banks are putting digital remote identity verification and biometrics in place to comply with industry regulations.
Bank leaders are generally optimistic about crypto regulations. 67% of financial services leaders agree that crypto regulations make banks’ participation in the market more attractive.

Source: OneSpan’s Global Financial Regulations Report 2022
Asia Pacific’s fintech landscape
Diverse and vibrant Asia Pacific is emerging as the world’s most exciting region for fintech.
Regulators, financial institutions and fintechs are intent on cultivating digital talent and developing innovative solutions like artificial intelligence.
Regional demand for fintech apps is surging. Although Asia Pacific fintech investment shrank in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it rose to US$ 7.5 billion in the first half of 2021.
Steep competition between jurisdictions—especially in the shadow of a digital powerhouse like China—will ensure that growth in fintech continues to accelerate.
Wealthy and established economies like Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are pursuing ambitious digital plans.
Taiwan, Asia’s top economic performer of 2020 and one of the world’s most competitive economies, will be a key market to watch.
Its regulators have sought to lower entry barriers for fintechs, strengthen cybersecurity and data protection frameworks, and promote the development of disruptive technologies.
Hong Kong is similarly aiming to cement its status as a global financial center.
In June 2021, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced its Fintech 2025 strategy, which aims to modernise data infrastructure, promote the uptake of fintech by the financial sector, set the stage for the advent of CBDCs and provide more financial and regulatory support for the development of fintech.
Meanwhile, emerging markets like India and Southeast Asia are experiencing incredible digitalisation, though structural challenges and the continued effects of the pandemic could stall progress in economic transformation.
India’s fast-growing fintech market is currently valued at US$ 31 billion, and is forecast to expand by a staggering US$ 84 billion by 2025.
Its young and tech-savvy population is leading a surge in digital payments, and India’s United Payments Interface (UPI) recorded 3.55 billion transactions in August—an all-time high.
Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand are all exploring CBDCs, which will both promote financial inclusion and interregional and international trade.
In addition to the research, the second annual Global Financial Regulations Report outlines major developments in the regulatory landscape in 54 jurisdictions worldwide.
The report delves into country-by-country analysis of CBDCs, open banking, artificial intelligence, digital identity frameworks, e-signatures and remote online notarisation, and data privacy.
OneSpan’s Global Financial Regulations Report can be accessed here.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Top 25 Insurance Distributors

InsurTech

Top 25 Insurance Distributors

									by Fintech News Singapore
October 5, 2016

Vertafore released a list about the Top 25 Disruptors in the insurance industry. From the way you buy and sell insurance, to how you learn about new opportunities to grow your business, these are the investors, thought leaders, and executives driving innovation in the insurance industry today.
 Matthew Wong, Senior Research Analyst – CB Insights
Matthew founded CB Insights, a New York-based research and analysis firm. He is one of the few analysts who have prioritized the burgeoning InsurTech industry and as a result, writes ‘Insurance Tech Insights‘, a weekly newsletter and blog that discusses developing trends and investments in insurance.

Florian Graillot, Investor – AXA Strategic Ventures
Florian and his company, AXA Strategic Ventures, are hyper focused on investing money in strategic startups driving innovation in the insurance industry. He is a frequent thought leader and contributor to top publications such as TechCrunch. Recently, he was named the industry’s most influential contributor by InsurTech News.

Sabine VanderLinden, Managing Director – Startupbootcamp
Sabine is an expert in InsurTech concepts, having judged a number of customer experience, digital, and insurance innovation awards. Her opinions are widely respected when she recognizes others for the work they do in evolving the industry forward.

Matteo Carbone, Principal – Bain & Company
Matteo is one of the founding fathers of InsurTech. His “Four Ps of InsurTech” has provided the framework for industry analysts to group startup companies seeking to disrupt the industry. Perhaps more importantly, this research also acts as a roadmap for insurers looking to revolutionize their technology partnerships in a disruptive era.

Denise Garth, Senior Vice President – Majesco
Denise is driving change in an industry preparing for the future. She’s held multiple leadership roles as a CIO and business executive at leading insurance companies, research and consulting firms, and trade associations such as ACORD. Her “5 Charts on Insurance Disruption” helped crystalize accelerating disruption in the industry and provided a framework for understanding it.

Dave Dias, Founder – Insurance Thought Leadership
Dave founded Insurance Thought Leadership, a platform that allows leaders in the insurance community to share their innovative ideas in the hopes of ultimately transforming the industry. Deemed the “chief evangelist” for ITL, Dave is a driver for change in the industry, by empowering insurance thought leaders to network and exchange ideas.

Ali Safavi, Director – Plug and Play Insurance Startup Accelerator
Ali leads the InsurTech practice at Plug and Play, a startup accelerator in Silicon Valley. His thought leadership has clearly articulated the role that “nimble” startups can play in disrupting a massive market quickly if large, entrenched companies don’t adapt soon.

Mike Connor, CEO – SVIA and Chair – InsurTech Expo
Mike‘s roles as CEO of SVIA and Chair of InsurTech Expo give him a front row seat to disruption in the $5 billion insurance industry. A former product manager during Apple’s early days, he’s helped drive innovation firsthand and understands the role end-users play in forcing change, sharing his experiences as a published author in the book “Creating Insanely Great Customers.”

Bill Sullivan, Head of Global Financial Services Market Intelligence – Capgemini
Bill heads the Global Financial Services Market Intelligence at Capgemini, a role that has earned him recognition as a thought leader in the industry and many awards in the InsurTech and FinTech industry. A trusted advisor, Bill has shared his expertise globally and has consulted companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Ellen Carney, Principal Analyst at Forrester
Ellen is a principal analyst at Forrester, where she pushes “traditional” insurers to embrace technology to fight disruption in the industry. Her research on technology trends makes her a highly sought and qualified thought leader, often leading to speaking positions at insurance and Forrester events.

Deb Smallwood, Founder – Strategy Meets Action
Deb is the founder of Strategy Meets Action, which is dedicated to modernizing the insurance industry through collaborative research, events, consulting, and more. As an insurance industry expert, influencer, and strategic advisor, Deb continuously presents new ways technology can be utilized to move the insurance industry forward, and to boost its effectiveness and efficiency.

Minh Q. Tran, General Partner – AXA Strategic Ventures
Minh is a General Partner at AXA Strategic Ventures, where he employs his expertise to help InsurTech startups grow and reach their potential to ultimately help the industry as a whole thrive and continue to innovate. Credited with coining the term InsurTech, Minh is truly a thought leader and disruptor in the industry, and empowers startups to follow suit.

Elizabeth Lumley, Director of Global Ecosystem Development – Startupbootcamp FinTech & InsurTech
Elizabeth is the Director of Global Ecosystem Development at Startupbootcamp FinTech and InsurTech, where she seeks to disrupt the insurance industry and challenge the way traditional agencies function. Elizabeth provides advice, mentorship, and networking opportunities to InsurTech startups to help them reach their full potential and benefit the industry as a whole.

Andrey Kunov, Ph.D, CEO – Silicon Valley Innovation Center
Dr. Andrey serves as CEO of Silicon Valley Innovation Center & is a Co-Founder/Board Member of Silicon Valley Insurance Accelerator, both of which enable companies to innovate and disrupt the traditional insurance industry. At 2015’s NewCo Silicon Valley event, Dr. Andrey presented a session entitled, “The Gateway to Disruptive Innovations,” highlighting the future potential of the industry and the value of disruptive technologies.

Michael Ian Coles, Managing Director – Coles Advisory Partners
Michael is the Managing Director of Coles Advisory Partners in New York, which aims to inspire a new generation of ideas, including the incorporation of technology, into the global insurance industry. During this year’s NYC InsurTech Leaders in Risk Future event, Michael spoke about growth and innovation in the industry.

Luke Cohler, Co-Founder – Jetty Insurance
Luke co-founded Jetty Insurance, a technology-enabled, Property & Casualty insurance start-up geared towards serving urban millennials. Luke presented his thought leadership at this year’s NYC InsurTech Leaders in Risk Future event.

Steve Gunderson, Managing Director – Accenture Strategy, Insurance
Steve exemplifies InsurTech thought leadership as Managing Director of Accenture Strategy, Insurance, as well as co-author of “Taking the “I” out of Insurance Distribution”, which provides a look at how multi-industry partnerships are redefining the insurance distribution ecosystem. By helping clients develop innovative strategies, he is a key participant in the growth and transformation of the traditional insurance industry.

Hugh Terry, Founder – The Digital Insurer
Hugh is the founder of The Digital Insurer, which serves as a forum for over 10,000 insurance professionals to share ideas regarding the digital insurance industry in Singapore. Hugh is also the Director of Insight Consulting, where he helps insurance companies (in Asia) implement innovative digital insurance strategies.

Sam Friedman, Insurance Research Leader – Deloitte Center for Financial Services
Sam provides thought leadership and leads the primary research on insurance at Deloitte. He shares his research and recommendations to help companies understand the state of the market, including Deloitte’s research report on disruption earlier this year “Insurers on the Brink: Disrupt or be Disrupted“. He also blogs twice monthly for PropertyCasualty360.com.

Bill Pieroni, CEO – ACORD
Bill is the CEO of ACORD, a nonprofit association providing the global insurance industry with data standards and solutions that facilitate accurate, effective, and efficient data exchange. Bill applies more than 25 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies, including McKinsey, Accenture, and IBM, to inform his decisions at ACORD and propel the industry forward.

Curtis Barton, Co-founder and President – Venture Pacific Insurance Services
Curtis’s role as Co-Founder and President at Venture Pacific Insurance Services in California allows him to strengthen the power of technology to deliver real time insurance solutions to clients. His accomplishments as a thought leader in the insurance industry earned him a spot on Insurance Business America’s 2016 Hot 100 list.

Michael Albert, Founder – AskKodiak
Michael founded AskKodiak, a platform designed to help carriers communicate with agents and brokers. He also represents the industry as a thought leader on social media by regularly participating in conversations about InsurTech and has held speaking engagements at events such as Insurance Disrupted 2016.

Shai Wininger, President and Co-founder – Lemonade
Shai co-founded Lemonade, the first peer-to-peer insurance company powered by innovations in technology. Shai seeks to disrupt the status quo through incorporating technology in every step of the insurance process.

Kitty Ambers, CEO – NetVU
Kitty is CEO of NetVU (Network of Vertafore Users) with more than 30 years of diverse experience in the insurance industry. She’s worked as an agent, a manager, an independent consultant and educator, and the Executive Director for the AIMS Society, just to name a few. She works to empower NetVU members through networking, community building, and advocacy within the industry and with Vertafore.

Sebastien Meunier, Senior Manager at Chappuis Halder & Co.
Sebastien earned a spot in the Top 20 list of InsurTech’s 50 most influential thought leaders by frequently sharing his passion for innovation in the insurance industry. Recognized as an InsurTech expert, Sebastien often contributes relevant and forward thinking articles that add value to the insurance industry community.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Funding
Open Banking

Open Finance Platform Brankas Raises USD $20m From Insignia Ventures and Visa

									by Fintech News Singapore
January 6, 2022

Brankas an open finance tech firm announced the close of its US$20m Series B investment round led by Insignia Ventures Partners with participation from existing investors Beenext and Integra Partners.
Visa, AFG Partners and Treasury International (backed by veteran fintech founders Jeff Cruttenden of Acorns and Eli Broverman of Betterment) have also joined the round along with existing investors Beenext and Integra Partners.
Brankas was selected as one of the 5 participants in Visa’s 2021 Accelerator Program and jointly developed with Visa, a digital credit card issuance proposition using Visa’s data capabilities. The solution was showcased at the Visa Accelerator Demo Day in September 2021.
With this round, Brankas aims to scale its network of more than 40 financial institutions and 100+ technology companies and broaden its product offering to include more banking-as-a-service, cryptocurrency support, and payment offerings

They are also looking to double the 100-person strong team.
Brankas’ network of financial institutions and tech companies rely on its menu of embedded finance APIs to develop, rollout, and manage digital experiences across various use cases for Southeast Asia, from digital banking, online credit scoring to e-commerce and gig economy payments.
Todd Schweitzer
Todd Schweitzer, CEO of Brankas, said,
“Open Finance is about more than just payments or banking. Our work at Brankas building Southeast Asia’s next-generation financial services infrastructure has unlocked opportunities for new financial product development, in a region that has historically been dominated by large brick-and-mortar incumbents. Thanks to our growing network of partners and customers we are continuously deepening our understanding of these opportunities and leading the development of solutions to open these doors for them here in Southeast Asia.”
Following this Series B round, Brankas is deepening the capabilities of its payments, data, and banking-as-a-service API product menu in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. The company is soon to announce partnerships with top digital banks and fintech leaders in Vietnam and Bangladesh, going live in early 2022.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Digital Assets
Payments

Digital Asset Asset Exchange ECXX Graduates from MAS’ Sandbox

									by Fintech News Singapore
January 10, 2022

Digital asset exchange ECXX announced today that it has graduated from Sandbox Express under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (“MAS”) Fintech Regulatory Sandbox Framework with the Recognised Market Operator(“RMO”) license with effect from 1 January 2022. ECXX successfully entered the MAS Sandbox Express in August 2020.
ECXX believes that securitization and trading of securities using blockchain will make alternative investments like private equity, real estate, and other traditionally illiquid assets more accessible and liquid.
The digital asset exchange has also applied for a license under the PSA. It is currently operating a digital payment token exchange based on the exemption period granted by MAS from holding a license under the PSA.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

360F and AXA Singapore Launches Full-Scale Production of Advisory Tool “My FinScore”

									by Fintech News Singapore
January 28, 2022

Singapore-based insurtech 360F and AXA announced that they will be launching a full-scale production of their advisory tool “My FinScore”.
360F had enabled the launch of My FinScore with AXA Singapore earlier this month which was made available to the latter’s 700-strong agency force and their customers.
The two entities had previously partnered to embark on a Proof-Of-Concept for My FinScore in 2021 which had yielded a positive outcome.
Using 360F’s flagship solutioning optimiser and scoring system, AXA Singapore educates customers to discern their options and its distribution force to deliver a seamless advisory experience.

Powering the “My FinScore” self-discovery tool is some of 360F’s microservices, including its flagship solutioning optimiser 360-ProVestment®, instinctive scoring system 360-HappiU® and low-code quotation engine, 360-Quote®.
Michael Gerber
Michael Gerber, CEO of 360F, says
“Among the trends accelerated by COVID-19 is buyer empowerment, a self-engaging behavior that will endure beyond the pandemic. This is a beneficial development for the financial advisory industry as engaged intent is the pre-requisite for a productive advisor-client relationship.

We are honored that AXA Singapore use our innovation to help their financial consultants establish with their customers the trust levels necessary for an excellent advisory experience.”

Featured image: Edited from Unsplash

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Funding
Indonesia
Open Banking

Indonesian Open API Platform Ayoconnect Raises US$15 Million Series B

									by Fintech News Indonesia
January 31, 2022

Indonesian open finance platform Ayoconnect announced that it has closed a US$15 million series B financing round led by Tiger Global.
The round was joined by PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus, and Alto Partners, as well as individual strategic investors, including Plaid’s co-founder William Hockey and Jerry Ng, President Commissioner of Bank Jago.

Subscribe to our Monthly Fintech News Indonesia Newsletter

Ayoconnect said that it will use the funds to continue launching new products and increase its capacity so it can absorb accelerating demand.
In the first half of 2022, Ayoconnect will launch a direct debit service in Indonesia which will automate recurring payments directly from customers’ bank accounts.

The company added that plans are underway to offer clients cards-as-a-service, and Ayoconnect is also set to begin its regional expansion.
Ayoconnect has more than 200 API customers and 4,000 embedded finance products.
Jakob Rost
“We are building the AWS of open finance with the most complete offering globally so that we can power the companies of today and the tech unicorns of tomorrow.

We are proud to receive the backing of some of the world’s most renowned investors,”
said Jakob Rost, CEO and Co-founder at Ayoconnect.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


InsurTech

4 Anti-Fraud Tech Trends in the Insurance Industry

									by Fintech News Singapore
February 4, 2022

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, fraud and suspicious activity have been on the rise. In the insurance industry, fraud attempts have become increasingly sophisticated, forcing insurance companies to embrace technology and set out anti-fraud technology to identify suspicious activities in a more proactive manner.
In their latest 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS look at the state of anti-fraud tech adoption in the insurance industry, delving into insurers’ fraud detection strategies and planned areas for expansion.
Anti-fraud tech flourishes
The research found that as fraud continues to rise in the industry, adoption of anti-fraud tech in insurance is surging. Out of 100 insurance companies surveyed, 80% indicated using predictive modeling to detect fraud, up from 55% in 2018.
Predictive modeling uses machine learning (ML) and data mining to look at past behaviors to predict future possible outcomes.

Adoption of text mining witnessed an even stronger growth, rising from 33% in 2018 to 65% in 2021. Text mining is the process of deriving high-quality information from different written resources.
Image-based fraud prevention techniques are also becoming more popular, with over 30% of insurers reporting incorporating photo recognition/analytics in their fraud prevention efforts in 2021.
These technologies allow insurers to determine whether a photo of a claimed damage is real, has been digitally altered, or has been submitted previously on other claims, avoiding thus the need for in-person inspections and ultimately helping save costs.
Concerning fraud detection, does your system incorporate any of the following?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS
Rising use of anti-fraud tech is further evidenced by the growing proportion of referrals coming from automated fraud detection solutions, showcasing insurers’ growing reliance on anti-fraud tech. In 2018, that number stood at 20%. In 2021, that figure grew to 30%.
What percentage of referrals come from your automated fraud detection solution?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS
Embracing alternative data
Data is the very core of fraud detection: the more data an organization has, the more informed their decisions can be when assessing risk. Given the critical importance of data for a fraud management system to work effectively and accurately, insurers are now increasingly embracing new data sources.
While the study found that the most frequent data source relied upon continues to be internal data (100%), a rising proposition of insurers indicated using alternative data. In particular, unstructured data saw a significant rise in usage, surging from less than 50% of respondents indicating relying on this data source in 2018, against 81% in 2021.
Public records are another data source that saw a notable rise, increasing from about 60% in 2018 to now up to 79%. There is also a significant increase in the use of industry fraud alerts or watch list data, which rose from about 60% in 2018 to 88% in 2021, in addition to social media data, which were used by nearly half of insurers surveyed in 2021, against about 37% in 2018.
Which of the following data sources are used by your anti-fraud technology?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS
Limited IT resources, data management as key implementation challenges
While technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI), geotargeting and automation, are bringing many benefits to the fight against fraud, adopting new technology also comes with challenges.
Among the biggest barriers in deploying fraud detection tech, insurers cited limited IT resources (68%), as well as data integration and poor data quality (64%) as the most significant implementation challenges in 2021.
Though these hurdles have historically been at the top of list, there is a slight decrease observed throughout the years, suggesting an improvement in both IT resources and data management.
What were the biggest challenges in deploying fraud detection technology?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS
Budget and financial concerns also appear to be an obstacle for many organizations. 68% noted that their budget, as in previous years, will either remain flat or that there is no expectation of significant changes in funding for the next twelve months.
Tapping into the potential of advanced analytics
When asked about the technologies they were the most excited about, insurers showed eagerness in the advanced analytics space. 54% of respondents said they were considering investing in predictive modeling within the next 12 to 24 months, followed by automated red flags/business rules (41%), link analysis (39%), and AI and machine learning (ML) (28%).
Which of the following anti-fraud technologies are you considering investing in within the next 12 to 24 months?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS
Similar to results observed in 2018, insurers said the detection of claims fraud (71%), underwriting, or point-of-sale fraud/rate evasion (38%) and cyber fraud (23%) will be amongst the top investment areas for the next 12 to 24 months. Additionally, almost a third (31%) of respondents are looking to invest in identity verification/authentication technology.
Which areas of technology is your company considering investing in in the next 12 to 24 months?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS?, Source: 2021 State of Insurance Fraud Technology Study, Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and SAS
In the US, the total cost of insurance fraud (non-health insurance) is estimated to be more than US$40 billion per year, according to the FBI. Recent report suggest that the proportion of fraud may represent as much as 22% of global insurance claims.

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore


Indonesia
InsurTech

Indonesian Insurtech PasarPolis Names Former Amazon Exec as CTO

									by Fintech News Indonesia
February 15, 2022

Indonesian insurtech firm PasarPolis announced the appointment of Rajesh Kumar as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
PasarPolis said that Rajesh’s extensive experience with nearly two decades in the technology sector with global brands including Amazon and MakeMyTrip, makes him a welcome addition to the leadership team.

Subscribe to our Monthly Fintech News Indonesia Newsletter

The firm added that his commitment and strategic approach to tech development aligns with its objectives as PasarPolis continues to progress and fast track its innovation throughout Southeast Asia’s insurtech ecosystem.
PasarPolis provides a seamless UX design of the entire purchasing, policy administration, claim, and customer support experience.

The insurtech has served around 80 million customers with over 1 billion policies issued since 2019.
In addition, the company has built solid industry partnerships with companies including Shopee, and also Xiaomi, providing built in device insurance.
Rajesh Kumar
Rajesh Kumar, the newly appointed CTO of PasarPolis said,
“I’m excited to join PasarPolis and help empower the company’s goal to innovate and deliver affordable insurance, making it an attainable reality for all Indonesians, no matter what their socioeconomic position.

Our unique cultural approach and understanding can also be replicated in other countries in Southeast Asia, democratising insurance for everyone, across all market segments.”

Subscribe to the most important Fintechnews in Singapore