GoCardless & ICE InsureTech partner to streamline payments

GoCardless has announced a new strategic partnership with ICE InsureTech to streamline automated payment collection for insurance companies in Australia and New Zealand. The collaboration aims to mitigate the high costs and frequent payment failures often linked to traditional card payments by utilising bank payments through GoCardless.

Luke Fossett, General Manager ANZ at GoCardless, expressed enthusiasm about the new partnership. According to Fossett, "This new partnership provides a strategic opportunity, giving us great exposure to insurance companies in most of the markets we operate in. We are excited to help them deliver better digital experiences through faster and more seamless payments and look forward to growing our customer base together with ICE InsureTech."

The move is seen as a significant step for both companies involved. Vishal Thaper, Head of Product at ICE InsureTech, highlighted the ease and efficiency of their new integration with GoCardless. Thaper noted, "We are delighted to be integrated with GoCardless. The integration is easy to set up and help is always at hand from a member of their team if ever you get stuck."

"GoCardless makes the overall cost of acquisition cheaper, not to mention the process is faster and more accurate for our end customers. We are very proud to have created such a seamless journey for weekly, fortnightly, and monthly scheduled payments." He also mentioned the company's ambitions to incorporate open banking and Variable Recurring Payments into the insurance industry in collaboration with GoCardless.

The integration has gone live in Australia and New Zealand, with Provident Insurance being the first joint customer to benefit from this collaboration. Plans are in place to roll out the service to the UK and Ireland later in the year, expanding the availability of Direct Debit and open banking payments.

On the insurer's side, the partnership promises multiple benefits, including faster payments, reduced churn, and diminished manual administrative tasks. This can potentially free up time for teams to focus on more critical aspects of their operations. For the customers, this means there is a reduced risk of insurance coverage being interrupted due to failed payments, offering greater peace of mind.

ICE InsureTech customers will now have the capacity to leverage automatic payment collection and reconciliation, thereby offering greater financial oversight and decreasing the load of manual administrative tasks. Transitioning from cards to bank payments is also set to reduce involuntary customer churn and avoid expensive transaction fees.

GoCardless has been fortifying its presence through its partnership strategy and currently collaborates with over 350 partners. This extensive roster allows businesses to integrate GoCardless into their existing software ecosystems seamlessly, helping to streamline payment management and other business activities.

As the cost of living and doing business continues to rise, this partnership emerges as a pivotal development for insurance companies operating in Australia and New Zealand. The ability to ensure seamless and efficient payment processes is likely to be well-received by businesses and their customers alike.