Short-term insurer leads the way in claims settlement innovation
There are so many negative stories circulating in the press that we sometimes forget our accomplishments. The South African financial services sector, for example, deserves praise for its world class performance across a number of categories. We are among the best in the world where banking infrastructure and transaction capability, financial product innovation and financial market regulation are concerned. It was not by chance that our banks and financial institutions survived the recent global financial crisis relatively unscathed.
The best way to measure South Africa’s financial sector against its global peers is to consider the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report 2011/12. South Africa achieved an overall 50th position among 142 countries, based on our performances against a dozen “pillars” or competencies. Our best showing was under the eighth pillar, financial market development, comprising eight sub-categories. We placed first in the world for the regulation of our securities exchange, second for the soundness of our banks and third for the availability of financial services! And – in keeping with the trend – we scored a fourth for financing through our local equity market and eighth for our legal rights index. Our performance in categories such as the ease of access to loans (36th), affordability of financial services (39th) and venture capital availability (44th) were less impressive, but still among the top third of country respondents.
A fantastic platform for financial services innovation
It is clear from this assessment that South Africa has an impressive financial services foundation to build upon. And our banks and financial institutions have wasted little time in creating innovative solutions in areas such as card technology and mobile banking. In recent years we’ve seen chip technology incorporated in debit and credit cards and “tap and go” solutions (cash payment cards) for use with public transport such as BRT and Gautrain. Local bank clients have also lapped up the mobile banking solutions offered by the country’s retail banks, with First National Bank leading the way after signing up its three-millionth customer in May 2011.
Although prepaid cards have been around for quite some time, local companies are finding fresh and innovative ways to use the technology. At the 2011 Global Prepaid Awards ceremony held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday 6 October, South African-based DrawCard was short-listed as a finalist in four categories. The company scooped the “Best Corporate Prepaid Card Award” for the innovative corporate card program it implemented for leading short-term insurer Santam Limited. (DrawCard specialises in the design and development of innovative prepaid card programmes, including Visa payroll cards, incentive cards, gift cards, and insurance replacement cards, amongst others).
“To be recognised as a global innovator amongst the leading payments companies in the world is extremely gratifying and something we are very proud of,” said Philip Froom, co-founder and Managing Director of DrawCard. “This could only be achieved through the passionate commitment of our staff and the loyalty and support of our clients and partners.”
Easier to “spend” your claims payout
The true test of an insurer comes at the claims and claims payout stage. Policyholders expect their legitimate claims to be settled quickly and efficiently. Santam, with assistance from DrawCard, has leveraged the prepaid card technology to create flexibility in their claims payment process. The Santam Insurance Claims Card allows Santam policyholders to spend their claim funds at a Visa merchant of their choice, though the group still encourages them to make use of preferred retailers. Benefits from the prepaid card implementation accrue to both policyholder and insurer. “We are very proud of our relationship with DrawCard,” said Robert ter Borg, Head: Group Sourcing Business Development at Santam, confirming the positive impact of the program.
The Global Prepaid Awards has become a firm fixture for stakeholders in the industry. Awards producer Emma Armstrong says they received submissions from around the world since entries opened in April this year… We’d like to extend our congratulations to DrawCard and Santam for raising South Africa’s status on the international payment solutions stage. The local financial services industry can once again pride itself on a job well done.
Editor’s thoughts: There are numerous applications for modern payment technologies. Apart from the security features introduced in our debit and credit cards we now use chip technology to turn just about any piece of plastic into a cash settlement device. Have any of your clients been settled by way of the Santam Insurance Claims Card – and if so – how was their experience? Please add your comment below, or send it to [email protected]
