Media Releases

The report titled “Payments Landscape in Ireland: Opportunities and Risks to 2021”, provides a comprehensive analysis of payments industry overview, payments industry undergoing infrastructure modernization, introduction of technological advancements in payments market, leading players in Ireland’s payment market, and the future of payments landscape in the country.

Payments Landscape Overview: A payment industry comprise of many different entities relying on each other to operate efficiently and securely. Any payments industry is a network that communicates payment information from one point to another point. The payment process always starts with card brands irrespective of a consumer or a merchant. The card brands allow the merchant to issue co-branded credit cards to consumers and the acquirers to acquire merchants who accept credit cards. The acquirer authorizes card transactions and connects issuing banks. There are various acquires such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club and many more. Few acquirers process payments by themselves, while other acquirers allow a third-party to use their services and innovative payment technology to add more value to merchants.

Modernization of Payments Infrastructures:  Over the past few years it was observed that there is an influx of various companies entering the Irish payments industry utilizing eCommerce gateways and mobile payment providers. This trend exhibits significantly that the payments landscape in Ireland has expanded. There are an increasing number of Fintech (financial technology) companies in the payments industry in the recent years. This assured the merchants with a wider variety of selling methods. Payment market is a broad mix of payment vendors and payment technology solutions. The payments industry is currently undergoing infrastructure modernization required for nonbank innovators and addresses the growing customer needs. Over the past few years, more than 15 countries have modernized their payments infrastructures and many other countries are in the planning stage. It is a costly affair for both the system and at the bank level. Cross-border payments inefficiencies are opening doors for new players in the payments market.

Ireland’s Payments Landscape: The payments industry in Ireland includes credit transfers, direct debit, cash, payment cards, and cheques as payment instruments. In the year 2016, the Irish government replaced stamp duty with a fee on ATM cash withdrawals. The surcharge is to discouraging the use of debit cards at ATMs and encourage POS transactions. All the debit card transactions at POS terminals are free of charge. Irish consumers are accepting the contactless technology and the government has increased the contactless payment limit. According to Visa, more than 3 million contactless transactions on Visa debit cards were made every week in Ireland witnessing a drastic growth in the payments market. The increase in contactless spending limit and growing adoption of contactless POS terminals by retailers are the major factors affecting the growth in the contactless payments. The leading players in Irish payments market are Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB, Avantcard, Visa and Mastercard.

It is expect that the payments industry in Ireland will continue to grow at a moderated yet healthy rate during the next five years. Meanwhile, the growth in the payments market will be a rebalancing of revenue sources, and powerful disruptive forces will begin to reshape the Irish payments landscape. All the major banks in Ireland such as Kredietbank, ABB Insurance, CERA, (KBC Bank), Allied Irish Bank (AIB), Permanent TSB, Bank of Ireland (BOI), and Ulster Bank offer contactless cards.

Way Forward in Payments Landscape in Ireland: Ireland is deploying tools such as P2P tools, mobile payment tools, and contactless cards to encourage digital payments in the country. The process of digitalization and introduction of embedded technological applications has encouraged the growth of online payments using various cards offered by the financial institutions. The innovative growing new trends will pave way for more opportunities in the payments industry in Ireland over the coming years.

Key Topics Covered in the Report:

• Irish Payment Landscape Market Report
• Ireland Debit Card Market Report
• Ireland Credit Card Market Report
• Ireland Pre-Paid Cards Market Report
• Ireland Debit Card Market Analysis
• Ireland Credit Card Market Analysis
• Ireland Pre-Paid Cards Market Analysis
• Technological Advancements In Ireland Payments Market
• Leading Players In Ireland Payments Market
• Ireland bill Payment Market Research
• Ireland Money Remittance Industry
• Alternative payment methods in Ireland
• Ireland Cards and payments industry trends
• Consumer payment industry Ireland
• Ireland Credit Card industry analysis
• Ireland plastic money market
• Ireland Credit cards market research
• Ireland cards and payments market research report
• M-commerce Market Ireland
• Ecommerce payment industry Ireland
• Ireland payment industry
• Wallet payment market Ireland
• Plastic Card Money Ireland

 
To know more, click on the link below:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/payments-landscape-in-ireland-opportunities-and-r/142700-93.html

Follow for Related Links

Payments Landscape in the Philippines: Opportunities and Risks to 2021

Payments Landscape in Russia: Opportunities and Risks to 2021

Contact Us:                                                                                          

Ken Research

Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications

sales@kenresearch.com

0124-4230204

The report titled “Payments in Ireland 2017: What Consumers Want”, provides a comprehensive analysis of payments market overview, digital-only banks, cashless transaction options, MasterCard evolution, introduction of digital economy, technological advancements in payments market, leading players in Ireland’s payment market, and the future of payments market in the country.

Payments Market Overview: Majority of the Ireland consumers prefer cash as a perfect instrument for payments and it accounts for more than half of the total payment transaction volume. The extensive use of cash in the country is expected to decrease the growth of electronic payments. Ireland government has proposed many initiatives to encourage card payments, contactless payments, digital and mobile wallets payments to reduce cash transactions. Ireland banks are attracted towards low-cost channels such as mobile and internet banking to offer their products and services. The development of digital-only banks will encourage the consumers to shift towards electronic payments options. A Germany-based mobile-only bank has launched its operations in Ireland and has encouraged consumers to open a current account by signing up via video chat or online. It was estimated that the growth in e-commerce transactions will drive growth in the payment card market, because, debit and credit cards remain a preferred choice for online payments among Irish consumers.

Technological Advancements: The former domestic debit card operator in Ireland was Laser, which was the dominant debit card scheme provider until the year 2012 in the country. However, it was gradually overtaken by Visa and MasterCard. Laser ceased its operations completely in the year 2014. By the year 2015, MasterCard entered into a partnership with Bank of Ireland and is the sole credit card provider. As a result, almost all the banks Visa credit cards were replaced gradually with MasterCard-branded credit cards. Irish consumers are still adjusting to both the positive and negative effects of digital technologies on their personal lives. The introduction of digital economy in Ireland has raised its worth in Ireland’s GDP and this indicates that a continuing growth will be observed in payments category for the next few years.

There are various trends in payments market in Ireland that involve technology which improves consumer payment experience using mobile devices, or the infrastructure that promotes digital payments. Finger print reader-equipped devices are utilized in the payments market to improve the customer experience. The biometric application creates more efficient and secure ways of making payments, and accessing secure bank websites. Almost all the smartphones are equipped with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning which will improve the ability to anticipate consumer needs and also enhances payment applications. The launch of 5G is set to change the digital landscape and enables the banks to communicate with customers in real time.

Leading Players in Payments Market in Ireland: Irish consumer payments market witnesses a disruption because consumers are using more powerful, faster-connected and better-specified digital devices to make payments. This growing harmonisation and integration of technologies is transforming both the way consumers make payments and how payments market needs to operate.  Advanced mobile technologies are powerful engines for a technological change in payments sector. Smartphones are supporting the growth of digitalisation in payments market along with automation and augmentation. The leading players in the payments market in Ireland are Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB, Avantcard, Visa and Mastercard.

It was observed that the technology is currently being developed to make payment services and transit payments even more seamless. Ireland is a region leader in terms of payments and also shares the changes in the payments market with IoT, biometric identification and social media. Ireland population has accepted and adopted contactless payment cards. With proper education, improvements to the security features on the merchant and issuer side, consumers are more comfortable using such cards. Irish consumers will witness less cash, and adoption of payment cards will increase drastically. Retailers and micro retailers will increasingly adapt to the payment cards in the next five years such that a card would not be need for shopping. Internet of Things plays a major role in connecting devices and all of the connected devices will all be able to make transactions on consumers’ behalf.

Way Forward in Payments Market in Ireland: Banks in Ireland are deploying tools such as P2P tools, mobile payment tools, and contactless cards to encourage digital payments in the country. The process of digitalization and introduction of embedded technological applications was observed in the payments market in Ireland. This new trend has encouraged the growth of online payments using various cards offered by the financial institutions within the country. The growing new trends will pave way for more opportunities in the payments industry in Ireland over the coming years.

To know more, click on the link below:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/payments-in-ireland-2017-what-consumers-want/142699-93.html

Key Topics Covered in the Report:

• Irish Payment Market Report
• Irish Payment Market Analysis
• Irish Payment Cards Market
• Adoption of Cardless and Contactless Payments in Ireland
• Adoption of Payment Cards by Retailes and Micro-retailes in Ireland
• Leading Players in Ireland’s Payment Market
• Ireland bill Payment Market Research
• Ireland Money Remittance Industry
• Alternative payment methods in Ireland
• Ireland Cards and payments industry trends
• Consumer payment industry Ireland
• Ireland Credit Card industry analysis
• Ireland plastic money market
• Ireland Credit cards market research
• Ireland cards and payments market research report
• M-commerce Market Ireland
• Ecommerce payment industry Ireland
• Ireland payment industry
• Wallet payment market Ireland
• Plastic Card Money Ireland
• P2P payments Ireland
• Online Payment channels Ireland
• Debit cards market Ireland
• Credit card demand in Ireland
• Credit card demand future Outlook Ireland

Growth of non-oil private sectors, improvement in economic conditions, steady money transfer to Asian countries and increasing number of banks & exchange branches have driven the remittance industry in Kuwait.

Kuwait is well-known as a leading cosmopolitan hub in the world with wide range of investment and job opportunities, due to which it has been a major attraction for job seekers from South Asian countries. Presence of huge expat population in the country has resulted in high demand for remittance to send back money to native homes. Major contributors for boom in the remittance market in Kuwait include blue collar and white collar customers. These customers remit huge part of their salaries to support their families in their home countries. International remittance market in Kuwait had always been in a growth phase owing to rise in the number of expatriates resulting out of the job opportunities developed in the country every year. Later in the review period, the remittance market in Kuwait was unstable owing to the economic downfall of the country due to the falling oil prices but retention in oil prices and economic diversification have been strong support for remittance industry in Kuwait.

The internal migration rate in the country has also affected the domestic remittance in Kuwait. The citizens of Kuwait have been shifting from underdeveloped cities to developed cities for better job opportunities and higher wages in cities such as Al Ahmadi, Hawalli, As Salimiyah and others. Since 2015, the non-oil private sector business activities have displayed a tremendous growth in the country as the government has increased its focus on economic diversification. The bill payment industry in Kuwait has also witnessed tremendous growth with the increase in internet population and increasing dependability on e-payment wallets for bill payments. The increasing rate of internet population and the booming e-commerce market in the country have augmented the number of online purchases which thereby raised the online bill payments. With the growth of banks, exchanges, e-wallet operators and MTOs, the remittance industry in Kuwait has witnessed positive growth during the review period.

The report titled “Kuwait Remittance Market by Inbound and Outbound International Remittance, by Mode of Transfer (Electronic and Cash), by Channel (Bank and Non-Bank), by Bill Payment Methods (Cash, Credit/Debit Card/E-Wallet and Electronic Transfers), by Types of Payment (Grocery Bills, Utility Bills, Fuel Bills, DTH and Broadband Bills and Mobile Recharge Bills) and by Regions – Outlook to 2022” by Ken Research suggested that growth of bill payment market and increasing expat population in the country will majorly account for the overall transaction growth of Kuwait remittance market in next 5 years till 2022.

Source: https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/kuwait-remittance-bill-payment-market/143002-93.html

Contact Us:
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing
sales@kenresearch.com
+91-124-4230204

The report covers various aspects such as overall market size of Kuwait remittance market, international remittance market, domestic remittance market and bill payment market; segmentation on the basis of inbound & outbound international remittance, by major flow corridors (United States, Japan, Germany and others), by mode of transfer (electronic and cash), by channel (bank and non-bank), by bill payment methods (cash, credit/debit card/e-wallet and electronic transfers), by types of payment (grocery bills, utility bills, fuel bills, DTH & broadband bills and mobile recharge bills) and by regions. The report also covers snapshot on global remittance market, value chain analysis of Kuwait remittance & bill payment market, competitive scenario in the industry, SWOT analysis, trends & developments, issues and challenges, regulatory scenario of Kuwait remittance market. The report also covers the competitive landscape of the industry and comprehensive profile of leading players (Al Muzaini Exchange Company, Western Union, UAE Exchange, Havana Exchange Company, Bahrain Exchange Company, Dollarco Exchange Co. Limited, Al Mulla Exchange, Xendpay) operating in the market. The report concludes with future outlook and projections of Kuwait remittance market, major macroeconomic indicators and upcoming trends affecting the market have also been highlighted in the report. The report also serves competitive scenario for each market which exists in remittance industry to get an in-depth understanding of remittance sector in Kuwait.

2018 | Kuwait News

• Kuwait is expected to witness significant increase in the number of expatriates in the country owing to growth in job opportunities in non-oil sectors which will positively aid the remittance industry.
• Recovery in oil prices, increasing presence of banks & exchanges in Kuwait backed with technological advancement will change the shape of remittance industry in upcoming years.

Kuwait remittance industry is facing an intensified competition with the entry of new players in the market backed with banks & MTOs offering mobile banking and mobile wallet facilities to their customers for better customer satisfaction. With the growth of number of expats in the country, the demand for exchange houses in the country is also increasing. The infrastructure development activities undertaken by the government and government’s focus on economic diversity is set to increase job opportunities in the country. As majority of these jobs are expected to be in the thriving private sector of the country, there will be a significant increase in the number of expatriates in the country. This will clearly have a substantial impact on increasing remittance inflows and outflows, which are heavily dominated by the country’s expatriate population. The real estate and construction sectors are expected to grow in future which will elevate the business activities in the country and boost international remittance in Kuwait.

Kuwait is expected to witness growing penetration rate of mobile phones and internet in the country which will further augment the bill payment market in upcoming years. Electricity and water usage among Kuwaiti households has been growing significantly in the past few years and will continue to rise. The increase in consumption of these facilities and shift towards online payment will boost bill payment market in Kuwait. The domestic remittance industry in future will be driven majorly by digital money transfer business. The transaction fee for domestic money transfer is very minimal and has greater speed which will majorly aid the growth of domestic remittance market in Kuwait. Additionally, the remittance industry in the country will grow on the back of increasing immigrant population and economic recovery.

Number of immigrants in Kuwait, total number of households in Kuwait, number of Kuwaiti immigrants worldwide and internet user population in Kuwait are some other key factors that may have positive impact on the market, according to the Analyst at Ken Research.

Ken Research in its latest study, Kuwait Remittance Market by Inbound and Outbound International Remittance, by Mode of Transfer (Electronic and Cash), by Channel (Bank and Non-Bank), by Bill Payment Methods (Cash, Credit/Debit Card/E-Wallet and Electronic Transfers), by Types of Payment (Grocery Bills, Utility Bills, Fuel Bills, DTH and Broadband Bills and Mobile Recharge Bills) and by Regions – Outlook to 2022, suggests that demand for remittance in the country will grow at a positive growth rate owing to government’s increased focus towards economic diversification.

Key Topics Covered in the Report

Money Transfer Market Kuwait

Kuwait Remittance Industry

Value Chain Analysis Kuwait Remittance Market

Kuwait Remittance Market Size

Kuwait International Money Transfer Transactions

Major Players Kuwait Remittance Market

Money Transfer Companies Kuwait

Remittance Companies Kuwait

Major Money Transfer Operators Kuwait

Unbanked Population Kuwait

Non-Banking Operators in Kuwait

Kuwait International Money Transfer Market

Kuwait Domestic Remittance Market

Kuwait Bill Payment Services Market

E-wallets Market Kuwait

Kuwait Remittance Market Growth

Future of Kuwait Remittance Market

Upcoming Trends Kuwait Remittance Market

International Immigrants Kuwait

Inbound and Outbound Remittance Kuwait

Western Union Remittance Share Kuwait

Al Muzaini Exchange Competitors Kuwait

UAE Exchange Transactions Volume

Internet User Population Kuwait

Number of Kuwaiti Immigrants Worldwide

For more information on the research report, refer to below link:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/kuwait-remittance-bill-payment-market/143002-93.html

Related Reports by Ken Research

Nigeria Remittance and Bill Payments Market Outlook by Inbound and Outbound International Remittance, By Mode of Transfer (Cash or Electronic Transfers), By Channel (Bank and Non-Bank) - Outlook to 2022

Russia Remittance and Bill Payments Market by Inbound and Outbound International Remittance, By Mode of Transfer (Cash or Electronic Transfers), By Channel (Bank and Non-Bank) - Outlook to 2021

UAE Remittance and Bill Payments Market Outlook to 2021 - Rising Expatriate Population, Growing Business Activities and Increasing Demand for Utilities to Foster Growth

Contact Us:
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing
sales@kenresearch.com
+91-124-4230204

United Kingdom’s recovery in GDP growth has supported the demand for non-life insurance products in the market. The major factors affecting the non-life insurance market in UK are the increase in consumer spending limit, the recent changes in the regulatory structure and new insurance regulations implemented by the government. The year 2017 has introduces many changes in the non-life insurance market in UK. The insurance premium tax (IPT) in UK was raised on motor, pet insurance, contents insurance, mobile, buildings and private medical insurance. The personal injury claims rate used to calculate the final compensation amount was reduced by the UK's Ministry of Justice. It was estimated that by the year 2020, fully automated driverless cars would become a reality on United Kingdom roads.

The non-Life insurance investments in the United Kingdom include government securities, corporate bonds, investment funds, cash in bank or hand, other investments and total investment income. The evolution in the non-life insurance industry dynamics has made insurers to focus on cost-control measures, to enhance professional standards for insurance  advisers and  brokers, to regulate  commissions  earned and fees paid by financial professionals which are all likely to have a positive effect over the coming years. The major distributors in the non-life insurance market are direct marketing and bank assurance.

According to the research report “Non-Life Insurance in the UK, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020”, the non-life insurance market mainly comprises of property insurance, fire and allied perils insurance, engineering insurance, motor insurance includes motor hull insurance, motor third party insurance and general third party insurance and marine, aviation and transit insurance consists marine insurance, marine hull insurance, marine third party insurance and aviation insurance and transit insurance. The non-life insurance market is primarily split into motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, home insurance and marine insurance.

The major Non- life insurance companies are in collaboration with their counterparties such as  Allianz has a joint venture in the UK general insurance market,  Axis Capital on its recommended cash acquisition of Novae Group,  Lark Group on its merger with Aston Scott,  Ryan Specialty Group on the sale of Ryan Direct Group to private equity firms HPS Investment Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners,  Primary Group on the sale of UK General to JC Flowers & Co,  AXA on the sale of its UK P&C commercial broker Bluefin to Marsh,  the shareholders of Lonmar Global Risks on the sale of a majority stake to Global Risk Partners,  Congregational & General Charitable Trust on the sale of Congregational & General Insurance to Inter Hannover, Jelf Group plc on the recommended cash acquisition by Marsh,  Wesleyan Group on its acquisition of DPAS,  Marsh on the acquisition of SME Insurance Services, a specialist SME commercial insurance broker,  the shareholders of RFIB Holdings Limited on the sale of a majority stake to Calera Capital,  Direct Line Group on the sale of TRACKER to Lysanda,  Wesleyan Assurance Society on its acquisition of Practice Plan Group,  the management team and minority shareholders in Lark Group on the acquisition from Groupama,  Insurance Australia Group on the sale of UK specialist home insurance broker, Insurance Dialogue Limited, Europ Assistance on the sale of its UK insurance and assistance business to management, Groupama on the sale of its UK healthcare insurance business to Simplyhealth,  Brit on its sale to Apollo and CVC,  Standard Life on the sale of Standard Life Healthcare to Discovery / PruHealth,  Brit on its redomiciliation to the Netherlands,  Liverpool Victoria on its sale of Hero Insurance Services to Capita,  Insurance Australia Group on the sale of its UK mass market distribution businesses to Swinton / management,  Liverpool Victoria on its recommended cash offer for Highway Insurance Group Plc,  Cerberus’s Investment Committee on GMAC’s acquisition of Provident Insurance,  Liverpool Victoria on its acquisition of Britannia Rescue from the Civil Service Motoring Association,  Brit on the sale of its majority stake in RI3K, abc insurance on its sale to Liverpool Victoria, management buy-in and new investment of $900m,  Misys on the sale of its general insurance software business to Montagu Private Equity,  Travelers on the sale of Cassidy Davis to Jubilee Managing Agency,  LRA and BAIC on the sale of Airclaims to an MBO team backed by Lloyds Development Capital,  Prudential on the establishment of PruHealth,  Euclidian on the management buy-out and capital raising sale of pipeline to Berkshire Hathaway,  PRI Group plc on the takeover by Brit Insurance,  Royal & SunAlliance on the sale of its Healthcare & Assistance business to an MBO/MBI team backed by Barclays Private Equity,  CGNU on the sale of Sabre Insurance Company Limited to BDML Limited, ,  Churchill Insurance on its acquisition of the UK personal and general insurance business from Prudential,  QBE on the sale of Iron Trades Healthcare to Groupama,  Skandia on the merger of its P&C operations with those of Storebrand to form “if”,  AXA on its acquisition of Guardian Royal Exchange.

Non-life insurance market in UK has exhibited growth with the increase in the level of reinsurance. It was observed that the influence of reinsurance and other financial variables in non-life insurance has impacted the growth of consumers across insurance business. Reinsurance is an important strategic function in insurance market which impacts the competitive insurance market. Leverage is another important factor affecting the product-market share at the aggregate business level of the insurance firm.

UK's non-life insurance segment is the fourth-largest in the world. The increase in the non-life insurance market is partly due to country's infrastructure development, construction activities, rising car sales, and growing exports. The heavy flood loss in the recent years has recorded an increase in purchase of property insurance products that supported the growth of property insurances. The non-life insurance market in UK is expected to grow at a slow rate over the coming years. The challenge faced by the non-life insurance sector is particularly the ongoing low interest rate. The urbanization and increase in the spending limit will surely affect the growth of the non-life insurance market in UK along with many opportunities.

To know more, click on the link below.

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/insurance/non-life-insurance-uk/129013-93.html

Related Reports

Non-Life Insurance in Venezuela, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020

Non-Life Insurance in Ecuador, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021

Contact Us:
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
ankur [@] kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
www.kenresearch.com

Banque du Liban,the central bank of Lebanon) has directing all the banks to issue prepaid cards only to accountholders to prevent money laundering and the misuse of prepaid cards. With the central banks approval, international issuers are allowed to issue prepaid cards. The Lebanon Cash Consortium (LCC) partnered with the World Food Program (WFP) and launched the OneCard electronic payment card which can be used for ATM cash withdrawals and in-store payments at partner retailers. Bank Audi is the Lebanon's largest bank that offers a Novo branch and interactive teller machines (ITMs) catering to consumers financial needs. ITM offers live video assistance to consumers, can be used by consumers to manage bank accounts, deposit and withdraw cash, deposit and cash checks, transfer money and pay bills. A Novo advisory room is provided to the consumers to open a bank account and instantly obtain debit cards. The Novo branch is open 365 days a year to provide a convenient and interactive banking experience to consumers.

According to the research report “The Cards and Payments Industry in Lebanon: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020”, Lebanese payments cards include debit, credit and charge cards and the industry has registered a positive growth in the yesteryears. The payment industry includes check payments and payment cards along with the E-commerce market. The factors affecting the cards and payments industry in Lebanon are increase in consumers’ awareness about electronic payments, the introduction of improved cards and adoption of advanced technologies such as PayWave, PayPass, EVM Technology, and contactless cards. Lebanon ranks seventh among the Middle East and North Africa countries with the frequent use of the payment cards. A rapid growth was observed in the prepaid cards market and the number of cards in circulation in Lebanon is expected to exceed the debit, credit and charge cards. The younger population in Lebanon are targeted with new payment cards offered by Byblos Bank and Blom Bank. Majority of the younger generation in Lebanon make online purchases and are benefitted with the redemption of rewards points offered on the cards.

In Lebanon, the remittance facility utilizes the prepaid cards. A global remittance company named IRemit was introduced in the country and issues the I-remit Visa Prepaid Cards. These cards ensure faster and safer remittance facilities from Lebanon to Philippines.  IRemit cards are provided with online payment facilities for utility bills and online shopping. The emerging trend in the payment cards is the introduction of smart cards with contactless technology features. In Lebanon, smart cards with contactless technology were introduced in association with Visa. PayWave and PayPass contactless payment technology cards were launched by Bank Audi and Visa in association with MasterCard. Bank Audi in Lebanon has launched the Tap2pay NFC Mobile Payment services making the consumers phone to be used as a credit card with the contactless technology. These services were launched in partnership with MasterCard and mobile operators Alfa and Touch.

Various strategies are adopted by the Lebanese banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards. These innovative and technological developments in Lebanon financial sector will witness a drastic growth in the cards and payments industry over the coming years.

To know more, click on the link below:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/cards-payments-industry-lebanon/55790-93.html

Related Reports

The Cards and Payments Industry in Turkey: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020

The Cards and Payments Industry in Taiwan-Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2021

The Cards and Payments Industry in Israel-Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020

Contact Us: 
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
ankur [@] kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
www.kenresearch.com

Reinsurance basically refers to the insurance bought by an insurance company from either one or more insurance companies either directly or through a broker as a means of risk management. Both, the ceding company and the reinsurer enter into a reinsurance agreement which contains the conditions, on the basis of which, the reinsurer has to pay a certain share of the claims that are incurred by the ceding company.

According to the report, “Reinsurance in South Africa, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020”, a comprehensive analysis of the market trends is undertaken wherein drivers and challenges in the South African reinsurance segment are studied well. The South African reinsurance segment has registered a compounded annual growth rate of about 8.9% when observed starting from 2011 and ending at 2015. This report offers the values for significant market performance indicators that include- written premium, reinsurance ceded and reinsurance accepted. A proper overview of the South African economy and its demographics, along with detailed investigation of natural hazards and their impact on the South African insurance industry is provided by the report.

The South African reinsurance industry is greatly concentrated, with the leading companies reckoning for a majority share of 85.6% in the industry’s total gross written premium in 2015. Herein, non-life segment yielded a premium that accounted for about 29.3% in the reinsurance market in 2015, followed by personal accident and health segment with around 8% and the life segment registering around 4.5%.

Reinsurance market has prolonged to account for an indispensable component of the country’s risk management plans because of the frequent happenings of natural disasters. However, a decline in the severity of the natural disasters that took place in the country during the review period has further led to an excess in the available reinsurance capacity. Therefore, the reinsurers along with the government will have to adapt to several effective pricing and policies and efficient steps pertaining to various risk mitigation efforts that would ameliorate the market conditions on a whole and attract more customers to opt for reinsurance. Also, in order to remain competitive and profitable, the reinsurers have to be extremely careful while stepping up both adaptations of underwriting as well as optimal efforts to mitigate risk – through proper examination of the current practices of local authorities.

If technology that prevails in South Africa is taken in consideration, it is found that it has been robustly securing itself to be a major factor responsible for accessing new customers in new markets thereby looking up for all the possibilities of growth. In the Middle East, like many other markets, the insurers are searching for alternative distribution routes available. With the advent of latest technology, even the aggregator websites are turning into big businesses and the market for mobile apps to sell products is also developing. Compared to other African countries, South African insurance companies have been initially steady to make a move into the mobile apps space. However, it is noticed that the number of insurers moving into this area has substantially augmented and in the coming years, a positive rapid growth is anticipated. As a result, insurers are getting more involved into looking up for innovative ideas as to how they can well deploy the new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to enjoy savings by lessening back-end overheads, tackling fraudulent claims and bringing down the headcount.

Micro-insurance is another important product that offers a significant growth potential in South Africa and a new framework for the same is anticipated to be established under the upcoming Insurance Bill, which is framed to assist the growth of this market, and highlights the groundwork for specific standards to be adequately followed. The Bill is foreseen to reduce the amount of capital required to be generally held by micro-insurance businesses and will thus, lower the regulatory norms that are required for selling such products. Favored mainly by strong cultural factors, the funeral insurance has been the most prevalent type of micro-insurance products that is currently available in South Africa. Indeed, this has accounted to be one of the country's biggest-selling policies and possesses an enormous market perforation rate due to the fear of risk of lives to almost majority of the population. Accordingly, the global micro insurance market is all set to prosper at increasing growth rates year after year.

The population of this country, as depicted in the graph below, is persistently going to increase in the coming years as well since an increasing trend in the same can be witnessed from year 2012 to 2016 which will undoubtedly continue without any fail. With increasing levels of population, the South African reinsurance market on a whole has already proliferated really well if recent performances are compared with past performances and in the years to proceed as well, the reinsurance industry is all set to just get better with more and more people joining the customer base of this industry, thereby multiplying it every year and opening up great opportunities for growth and development of this sector.

Several reinsurance programs have been of great importance to well cover up the losses suffered by insurers, however, shrinkage in the profit margins could make them highly vulnerable and lead to marginal reinsurance purchases for protection of carriers since they adapt to the upcoming risks. Thereby, South African reinsurers, who have adapted themselves to the augmenting scales of risk with more sophisticated risk management functions, are highly likely to come out as one of the strongest competitors of the reinsurance market in the coming years.

To know more about the research report:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/insurance/reinsurance-south-africa-key-trends/111702-93.html

Related reports:

Governance, Risk and Compliance-The Burundian Insurance Industry

Governance, Risk and Compliance-The Qatari Insurance Industry 

Contact Us: 
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
ankur [@] kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
www.kenresearch.com

Life Insurance in South Africa includes written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, total assets, total investment income and retentions. The life insurance operating in the South Africa includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure. Life insurances account for more than a three fourth of the South African insurance gross written premiums.

South Africa population are aware about the life insurance programs available. There are ten leading insurance companies offering written premiums in South Africa. The life insurance schemes are available at the preferred distribution channels such as brokers, agencies and bancassurance. With the unemployment rate significantly high in South Africa the trend in the life insurance is declining. The majority of the premiums in South Africa gave up the non-life segment. The personal accident and health segment are the majorly covered premiums in South Africa. An excess reinsurance capacity was observed with the reduced severity of the natural disasters. Reinsurance is an integral component of South Africa risk management plans applicable to the frequent natural disasters.

According to the NATIONAL Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in South Africa there are twelve leading insurance companies such as Great Nigeria Insurance Plc’s, Insurance Resourcery Consultancy Services Limited (IRCSL), an Ivoirien insurer, Sunu Assurances Vie Cote d’Ivoire, Equity Assurance, Cornerstone Insurance, UNIC Insurance Plc, Liberty Chief Executive, Thabo Dloti, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, and others such as Axa, Prudential, Liberty, Swiss RE, Sunu Group, Saham.

According to the report, “Life Insurance in South Africa, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020”, South Africa’s top six insurance companies are Metropolitan, Discovery, Old Mutual, Liberty, Momentum and Sanlam. Metropolitan Life’s products are more satisfying insurance schemes in South Africa. It was observed that there is a consistent development in the service quality of companies such as Metropolitan and Old Mutual. Discovery fell short in both quality and value, thus leading to unsuccessful business. Metropolitan enjoys the highest customer loyalty score equal to the Momentum’s loyalty score. Old Mutual, Sanlam, Liberty and Discovery are on the same page with customer loyalty score.

With the current economic situation in South Africa, it is predicted that there has been an increase in policy cancellations. Life and pensions schemes are prominent to lead a peaceful life after retirement. There is an increasing demand for retirement products due increase in the longer living global population and a growing need for wealth protection. The growing population in the country demands for more life insurance schemes and policies.

South African Constitution says that every individual in the country has the right to have access to health care services. Majority of the population in South Africa do not have any medical insurance and depend on a public health system with few doctors and dilapidated facilities that result in delay of medical treatment. The government implemented a National Health Insurance plan in the year 2009 that would cover medical facilities for all its citizens and would take almost another decade to get into full swing.

The poorest people in South Africa are provided with free services and medicines but with insufficient medical facilities. A survey states that a part of the population is not covered for health insurance, or life insurance or any long-term disability insurance.

A recent research states that the short-term insurance schemes in South Africa has been slowed to go digital and the sector is losing out on gross written premiums opportunities. Majority of the life insurance companies suggest that influencing cost efficient distribution channels like bancassurance, internet and or mobile phone distribution will be a key to selling life insurance to the population living in low income countries, including Nigeria. The life insurance industry in South Africa is a challenging market and given sluggish domestic economic growth for the country.

South Africa is one of the most advanced life insurance markets in the world, accounting for approximately 86% of Africa’s total life premiums. This market is concentrated around Lagos in the south west and Nigeria’s in the north. African insurance premium volumes have dropped sharply due to the currency depreciation in the country, high poverty rate, lack of capital, expertise within insurance companies, lack of effective and transparent legal, judicial and regulatory systems, combined with immature financial markets which are the major factors affecting the life insurance market in South Africa.

Besides all the hurdles, the life insurance industry in the next decade will witness a radical change in customers reducing sharply in favour of digital natives as the omnichannel revolution has begun to shape the future of the industry. The percentage of life insurance policies sold online will be doubled in the next decade along with South Africa’s growing economic conditions.

To know more about the research report:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/insurance/life-insurance-south-africa-key-trends/111699-93.html

Related reports:

Governance, Risk and Compliance-The Lesotho Insurance Industry

Governance, Risk and Compliance-The Qatari Insurance Industry

Contact Us: 
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
ankur [@] kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
www.kenresearch.com

The Cards and Payments Industry in Saudi Arabia involves check payments, payment cards, cash transactions, direct debits and credit transfers. Saudi Arabia is a cash-dominated society where cash is the preferred mode of consumer payments. Majority of the high-value transactions are shifting to electronic platforms and low-value transactions are carried out with cash. Although, the payment cards were introduced in Saudi Arabia majority of the population tend to use these cards for cash withdrawals at ATMs rather than making payments at merchant outlets.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) launched its modified electronic payment system Mada. To increase the penetration of debit cards, Mada cards were issued by local banks that can be used across all ATMs and POS terminals operated by local banks in the Saudi Arabia. Since, the debit cards are co-badged and can be used internationally with other payment systems such as GCC Net, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has adopted a number of initiatives to encourage electronic payments. A new electronic payment system was established and was made mandatory for wage payments into bank accounts. The SAMA also launched a modified Saudi Payment Network (Span) that links all ATMs and point-of-sale (POS) terminals across the country to a central payment switch. This network provides authorization, routing, and clearing services for all the payment transactions made in Saudi Arabia.

SAMA encouraged the consumers to increase the use of POS terminals while the daily purchase limit per card was increased. All the card users are provided with a value-added service, and Purchase with Cashback such as card withdrawals. SAMA launched the Wage Protection System (WPS) where all the employees' salaries are paid directly into their bank accounts. Consumers can withdraw cash and make payments at POS terminals using debit cards. The encouragement and emergence of digital only banks has encouraged electronic payments in Saudi Arabia. Gulf International Bank launched the first digital-only bank, Meem, in Saudi Arabia that offers online and mobile banking only, with no physical branches. The leading banks in the cards and payments industry in Saudi Arabia are Al Rajhi Bank, The National Commercial Bank, Riyad Bank, Arab National Bank, The Saudi British Bank, Samba Financial Group, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

SAMA introduced an e-payment service known as the SADAD Account that provides a direct link between banks and online merchants. The consumers utilize the online payments service by directly debiting their SADAD Account and transferring the amount to the merchants account. The National Commercial Bank, Samba Financial Group, Riyad Bank, Saudi British Bank (SABB), AlJazira Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, Arab National Bank (ANB), and Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) are offering the services of SADAD.

According to the research report “The Cards and Payments Industry in Saudi Arabia: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020”, the use of credit cards remains low in Saudi Arabia due to religious reasons, as Islam forbids the receipt or payment of interest. This encouraged the banks to issue a wider range of Sharia-compliant credit cards. All leading credit card issuers in Saudi Arabia offer Sharia-compliant credit cards and banks issuing credit cards are using promotional offers to encourage credit card usage. The Saudi Arabian government has initiated contactless technology. Riyad Bank has launched the country’s first contactless cards, and transformed all its card portfolios to contactless technology followed by the National Commercial Bank (NCB). All the remaining banks and card issuers in Saudi Arabia are anticipated to follow the same pattern over the coming years.

Majority of the banks in Saudi Arabia adopted various strategies to market debit and pay later cards. There are various leading competitors and regulations governing the Saudi Arabian cards and payments industry. The Saudi Arabian government has also initiated E-commerce market which is a part of the Saudi Arabia’s cards and payments and is one of the available payment types. E-Commerce Law was made to increase the competitiveness in the e-commerce market in Saudi Arabia, and to enhance customers’ trust in online purchases.

The country is facing high unemployment rate, budget deficit forcing the government to slash many of the perks it provides its citizens, rising petrol prices, inflation are the major factors affecting the consumers disposable income. The cards and payments industry may face a stand still point due to the country’s crisis but will start off with a slow growth over the coming years. The dynamic and competitive advantages lured by the banks will surely encourage more opportunities in the cards and payments sector by the year 2020.

To know more, click on the link below.

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/cards-payments-industry-saudi-arabia/38371-93.html

Related Reports

Charge Cards in Saudi Arabia

Pre-Paid Cards in Saudi Arabia

Debit Cards in Saudi Arabia

Credit Cards in Saudi Arabia

Contact Us: 
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
ankur [@] kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
www.kenresearch.com

Any insurance company takes risk when they insure a property or a person. Reinsurance allows the insurance company to reduce this risk by diversification. In 20^th century, Spanish insurance companies used reinsurance in an unregulated market. However, after 1940, the government regulated the market, which created several challenges for the insurance companies. Nevertheless, the regulations open-up many new opportunities also.

The financial crisis of 2008 had its impact on the Spanish insurance sector too, and the industry has seen a slow growth since then. According to the market research report "Reinsurance in Spain, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020", with the revival of economy in recent times, the insurance industry has also shown some signs of increased growth. There are currently around 10 professional reinsurance firms in Spain. With the present shape of economy, this is not expected to change and the number might not change in near future. Although the initial capital required for entering the market is not large, but excess competition and slow economic growth rate does not prove to be a lucrative deal for new entrants.

Reinsurance business thrives on the primary business of insurance. Unless the insurance industry of Spain show a significant growth, reinsurance will not be able to thrive much and growth might be slow. Direct insurance premiums have fallen in past few years because of high unemployment rate and low family income. In addition, because of the economic slow-down, the business is also slow which has further slowed down the insurance premium flow. This has resulted in fallen reinsurance premiums.

To simulate the growth, Spanish insurance and reinsurance firms have started to diversify and expand their operations. They are going global to counter the effect of slow Spanish economy. Latin America is one of the favourite targets for expanding Spanish firms because of similarities in language and culture. Mapfre, Catalana, CESCE, Santa Lucia, Llod are few of the firms which are working in this sector and are internationalising their business to simulate the growth. With the passage of Solvency II directive in 2016, companies are now forced to update their balance sheets to mitigate risk. This will be very beneficial for the reinsurance firms as they help in proper risk management, which reduced risks to significant levels.

The reinsurance market in Spain was growing rapidly until the economic crisis. However, past few years have not been very positive for the sector. With new government regulations, healing economy and increase in confidence among the Spanish population might provide the required boost to this sector and an improved growth can be seen in near future.

For further reading click on the link below:

https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/insurance/reinsurance-spain/106752-93.html

Related reports:

Reinsurance in Hong Kong, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020

Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Hong Kong, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020 

Contact Us:
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
ankur [@] kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
www.kenresearch.com