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Gartner Urges Insurance Firms to Investigate ‘Insurtechs’

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Insurance sector CIOs need to expand their market insight concerning the innovation and disruption potential of insurance technology startups (insurtechs) to complement their digital insurance strategies, according to Gartner.

According to Gartner research, 64 percent of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies have already invested directly or indirectly via their venture capital arms in insurtech startups.

Gartner predicts that 80 percent of life and property & casualty (P&C) insurers worldwide will partner with or acquire insurtechs to secure their competitive positions by the end of 2018.

Juergen Weiss, managing vice president at Gartner, said insurtechs can stimulate or accelerate innovation among incumbent industry players and complement existing digital insurance strategies.

“Gartner has seen growing interest among insurance business and IT leaders in collaborating with insurtechs or making them part of their overall innovation policies, but the research has also found that most insurance CIOs are not familiar with these companies or their value propositions,” said Mr. Weiss. We advise CIOs to identify areas where insurtechs could complement their digital insurance strategies, and evaluate potential collaboration or investments.”

Gartner defines insurtechs as technology companies (1) that are in their early stages of operation; (2) that drive specific innovation across the insurance value chain by leveraging new technologies, user interfaces, business processes or business models; and (3) that leverage different forms of funding, including, but not limited to, venture capital.

The number of technology startups in the insurance industry has more than doubled globally during the last three years, according to Gartner analysis of the sector conducted in the second quarter of 2016. Digital customer engagement, mobile insurance management and analytics are the most common technology focus areas of insurtechs.

Sixty percent of insurtechs have been founded within the last three years, and two-thirds of them have their headquarters in the U.S. EMEA is the second-most important region for insurtechs, with 27 percent having their headquarters there, mainly in Germany and the U.K. In Asia, countries such as Singapore and China (mainly Hong Kong and Shanghai) have begun to promote the development of a local insurtech ecosystem.

Digitalization is one of the top priorities for insurance CIOs, according to Gartner surveys. However, the vast majority of insurance CIOs are still struggling to progress their digital strategies.

Gartner’s research indicates that only 12 percent of insurance business and IT leaders consider their organizations to be digitally progressive, while the majority believe that their organizations are digital beginners or intermediate, at best. Reasons for this include a lack of agility caused by legacy IT systems, flat IT budgets and a lack of the right skills or the delivery models to support innovative business models.

“Collaborating with insurtechs, or at least evaluating them, could therefore provide a number of potential benefits for insurers,” said Weiss.

According to Gartner, insurers have six main options to capitalize on the opportunities that insurtechs provide, they include, Partner (for example, Axa partnering with BlaBlaCar for carsharing).

   – Acquire, that is, purchase the intellectual assets and hire all resources of an insurtech.
   – Purchase (like one would buy technology from an incumbent vendor such as SAP).
   – Invest (obtain a minority or majority share, either directly or indirectly, via a VC arm, such as Allianz’s investment in Simplesurance).
  –  Incubate (for example, let insurtechs compete to get into a startup accelerator; mentor them; and give them a space to work and exchange ideas).
 –   Insure the operations or assets of insurtechs.
Insurance CIOs who are planning to partner with insurtechs also need to be aware of the risks.

“Not all of them will survive,” said Mr. Weiss. “Insurance CIOs will need to develop a fail-fast approach and an exit plan that secures intellectual property and critical resources.”


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

The  inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.

In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN,  disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.

“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.

The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.

However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.

Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.

Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.

The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.

Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.

“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”

 

 

 

 


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