Monoova & Guidewire join forces to modernise Aus insurance

Monoova, a business-to-business (B2B) digital payments provider in Australia, has announced a new partnership with Guidewire, a well-known platform for property and casualty (P&C) insurers.

Monoova has joined Guidewire PartnerConnect as a global Solution alliance partner with the aim of modernising and future-proofing the Australian insurance industry's payment options.

The collaboration will support the integration of innovative payment solutions into the Australian insurance sector. Specifically, Monoova plans to introduce account-to-account payment options such as PayTo and PayID. These solutions are designed to align with global standards while gradually replacing traditional payment methods like direct debits, which will be phased out when the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) retires in 2030.

Insurance firms using Guidewire BillingCenter across Australia will gain access to Monoova's comprehensive suite of payment options, expected to address several industry-specific challenges. Notably, the integration of instant payment solutions aims to solve reconciliation issues and reduce delays between claims acceptance and payment. The current lag, which often leads to increased administrative costs and diverted staffing resources, could be mitigated by adopting these new payment types.

Furthermore, a single vendor providing all domestic payment rails is anticipated to reduce vendor costs and complexity for insurance companies. Customers can be reassured that familiar payment options will not be abruptly discontinued, thereby maintaining continuity in service. Options like PayTo offer flexibility in scheduling insurance premium payments - annually, monthly, fortnightly, or weekly—tailored to customers' preferences. Instant payments could mean that payout times will be significantly shortened, with some current Monoova clients reporting reductions from up to five days to mere seconds.

Guidewire's APAC Vice President, Geoffrey Dirago, commented on the importance of this partnership, stating: "The global insurance industry is currently undergoing a rapid shift towards offering modern digital payments options as the norm. Australia's insurance industry must also follow suit if it wishes to future-proof its operations, and ensure it isn't left behind on a global stage."

Will Murphy, Guidewire's Vice President of Technology Alliances, also emphasised customer-centric benefits, saying: "Customer satisfaction, convenience, and trust are primary goals of every insurance company. So this transition must also be done with customers front and centre—which is exactly what we believe Monoova's new future-proofed payments capability has been designed to achieve. We welcome Monoova as our partner because, as Australia's leading provider of payments rails, they offer the reliability and trust our customers demand."

Christian Westerlind Wigstrom, CEO of Monoova, highlighted the challenges facing Australia's insurance industry, noting: "Australia's insurance industry suffers from a number of payments-related challenges that products like PayTo can immediately help to address. We applaud Guidewire for taking a forward-looking approach by ensuring every one of its insurance company customers is ready for the phasing out of BECS well ahead of the 2030 deadline."

The transition away from BECS is not only industry-driven but also supported by regulatory bodies. According to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), 3.581 million claims were reported for insurance products in Australia in 2022. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock, in a recent speech, underscored the necessity of moving towards faster payment systems as the economy becomes more digitised. Bullock noted that the New Payments Platform (NPP) processed over 1.3 billion transactions valued at more than AUD $1.5 trillion in 2022/2023, stressing the urgency of transitioning away from BECS.