percent, and 85 percent of all financial transactions are conducted through the mobile transfer platforms though they comprise only 9 percent of the total value. these providers are now broadening the channels of international money transfers, and the central bank of kenya ( cbk ) has approved their partnering with various international money transfer institutions. nevertheless, there are some issues of concern alongside these positive developments. these need to be kept in mind and addressed in a concerted manner, and i offer some reflections on a few of them. first, the cost of remittances remains very high, at an estimated 7. 32 percent globally and 9. 42 percent for ssa, and needs to be lowered quickly. 2 these costs are charged largely by the originating institutions in countries where the traditional structures and institutions such as banks remain dominant. however, the ease and cost of remittance transfers also has a significant impact on the welfare of the many households that rely on these flows. the regionalization of money remittance services and modernization of cross border payment platforms would certainly facilitate a lowering of the cost of remittances. nevertheless, it is imperative that innovative ways be found to further lower these cost towards the sustainable development goal ( sdg ) target of 3 percent. therefore the fundamental question is what will each agent along the transfer chain do so as to reduce the overall cost to the consumer and how will innovations assist in this process? 1 world bank group, migration and remittances : recent developments and outlook, april 2017 2 world bank group, remittance prices worldwide, june 2017 second, the anti - money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism ( aml / cft ) framework needs to be improved continuously. this would ensure the adoption of best practices and, inter alia, lead to compliance with the aml / cft requirements and the fostering of an enabling environment for remittances. on the other hand, if progress in this area is not forthcoming, those jurisdictions would face the prospect of de - risking — a termination of their correspondent banking relationships, a withdrawal of foreign banks, or the imposition of other restrictions due to the perceived risks to money laundering and terrorism financing. in many ways de - risking has been attributed to the misapplication of aml / cft measures and to address this concern the financial action task force ( fatf ), the international standard setter, has advocated that countries fully implement a riskbased approach to combating money laundering and terrorism

##n enables them to automatically trigger and settle claims. it will mean vastly faster settlement of claims, 1 and the better service that customers in asia will come to expect. 10. life insurers in the region are also teaming up with fintechs, or establishing dedicated innovation labs of their own. we have five such innovation labs helmed by life insurers in singapore. other insurers collaborate with fintechs to co - develop solutions – as prudential has done with its pru - fintegrate programme. these are often focused on digital distribution, achieving customer centricity, as well as testing iot devices and solutions. from insurance agents to trusted advisors 11. at the end of the day, the digital transformation will also transform the jobs of insurance agents or financial consultants. as technology is applied to more tasks within the insurance value chain, some adjustment, re - skilling, and re - scoping of roles will be necessary. agents, freed from repetitive processing and queries, will be able to focus on a deeper understanding of the financial needs of the customer. 12. prudential singapore has begun this transformation, equipping their financial consultants with its cognitive chatbot askpru since august 2017. ( askpru instantly retrieves information about a customer ’ s policy and status of submitted claims, amongst other details, enabling financial consultants to respond to their customers faster. ) askpru is also expected to reduce 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches call volumes at its contact centre by 30 per cent, freeing up call centre staff to assist customers and consultants with more complex queries. financial consultants are also equipped with pruone express, a digital point - of - sale portal which uses fingerprint authentication by agents, and smartdata capture and is able to generate a detailed quotation within three seconds, enabling agents to discuss and assess possible protection plans with their clients on the spot. ultimately, the role of the insurance agent will continue to evolve : from selling standalone life or health insurance products, to more holistic wealth and risk management advice, and in essence to being a truly trusted advisor. given the growing 13. demand for risk management and compliance related roles in the industry, i also encourage insurers to consider reskilling some of their agents to take on such roles. 14. prudential ‘ s new office, which is designed to promote maximum mobility, productivity, innovation and healthy living amongst its employees, echoes the aspirations of