This week, we look at insurtech, open banking, lending apps, buy now pay later, cyber security, banking, regulatory framework, mobile payment, digital wallet and more. Dive into the selection and explore the latest insights from leading experts!

InsurTech and open banking: Insurance modernization pillars (Willis Towers Watson)

Max Drannikov and Charlie Samolczyk, Senior Director at Insurance Consulting and Technology, emphasize that the rise of fintech and InsurTech startups along with efforts by major digital vendors now mean that doing nothing is no longer an option for banks that wanted to keep their customer base and avoid being disintermediated by new entrants. There are key trends that, taken together, are helping to define the current landscape. Read more

Funding for Africa’s startups is at a record high – this is where it’s going (World Economic Forum)

Niall McCarthy, Data Journalist at Statista, has revealed that venture capital funding for African startups will reach a record of $2.25 billion and $2.8 billion this year. This is thanks to a number of factors such as an increased allocation of capital from corporates to their corporate VC activities, acquisitions of African tech companies, intensified FDIs and major initiatives from Europe such as the Enrich in Africa program. Read more

Should banks have more technologists than Microsoft? (thefinanser.com)

Chris Skinner, writer at The Finanser, highlights that it does not matter whether big banks have more developers than big tech because it’s about quality, not quantity. The questions that need to be asked are how effective are all of the developers, technologists and engineers who work for a bank. How much empowerment do they have? Can they control their bit of the development chain or is it all signed off by a manager who reports to a manager who reports to a Vice President who reports to a Senior Vice President. Read more

Addressing Predatory Lending Apps: Lessons From the Regulatory Response in Indonesia, India and the Philippines (Next Billion)

Hema Bansal, independent consultant in Financial Inclusion and Consumer Protection, dives into customer complaints about digital lending apps that have been surging across several emerging markets, raising serious concerns about predatory digital lending and gives responses to predatory lending apps across Indonesia, India and the Philippines. Regulatory responses to digital lending in these countries are still evolving, but there are already some emerging lessons on which tactics are most effective. Read more

How banks can play a role in reducing BNPL costs for merchants (The Paypers)

Yaacov Martin, Co-Founder and CEO at Jifiti, explains how banks can help merchants reduce BNPL costs and the benefits they can offer. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) fintechs in the United States expand their activities to include point-of-sale consumer loans in an attempt to reclaim revenues eaten up by a handful of Silicon Valley unicorns. As a result, the question of how long fintechs will dominate the BNPL industry has become a hot topic amongst investors. Read more

PayPal Leads Mobile Wallet Race With Half Of Online Transactions (And A Quarter In-Store)  (PYMNTS)

In this analysis, a further look at PayPal and competition is given. PayPal dominates in almost every category measured: shopping online, shopping in-store, by gender and by generation, it has a commanding lead in almost every market. As of yet, the only competitor getting close to PayPal, according to PYMNTS’ figures, is Apple Pay — and that’s only in a single (but valuable) demographic category: affluent consumers. Read more

BNPL: regulation gets the go-ahead, but what happens next? (FStech)

Alexandra Leonards, Senior reporter at Perspective Publishing, explores what regulation might mean for the future of buy now pay later and looks at how the market has responded to the government’s decision to green-light new rules. Read more

Cyber Insurers Hike Rates But Worry About Pricing Long-Term As Losses Mount: Fitch (Insurance Journal) 

This analysis explores how US insurers offering cyber coverage have been implementing significant pricing and underwriting actions in 2021 in response to a spike in cyber claims, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch predicts that immediate improvement is unlikely this year from these actions and reports that insurers are worried about the long-term. Read more

The worrying rise of ransomware as a service (Raconteur)

Oliver Pickup, author at Raconteur, emphasizes matters of cybersecurity, constructing over the example of the attack that cost a US fuel pipeline $4.4m in May. Pickup highlights why businesses need to treat the fast-emerging threat of ‘ransomware as a service’ more seriously. Read more

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