OCT - DEC 2021TELECOM BUSINESS REVIEW9In Singapore, digital payments are rapidly growing in popularity, including the use of e-wallet as safe and efficient ways to pay for products and services or to transfer funds. Statista research projects mobile point-of-sale payments in Singapore at nearly US$1 billion in 2019 with a projected annual growth rate of 30.7%. Mobile payments throughout Asia are many multiples higher, with China leading the usage of mobile payments and the e-wallet.PPRO, a London-based company specializing in cross-border payments, estimates online shopping in Asia at more than US$760 billion by e-wallet. This is more than the value of all European e-commerce. The company concludes that e-wallets are used in more than half of transactions in the region.The e-wallet isn't just simply a way of transferring cash. It combines digital, biological, and technological innovations with its dependency on touch-or voice-enabled smartphones and the internet. Telecommunications players are also joining the race to grab a piece of the pie. The best examples of e-wallets in APAC owned by telecommunications giants are Singtel's Dash, Globe's GCash, and Smart-PLDT's Paymaya.In Korea, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, in a government-led digitalization push, approved SK Telecom to deploy a blockchain-powered wallet to store national documents. This is its first digital wallet for documenting resident registration cards, health insurance qualification certificates, immigration certificates, and a range of others.As a platform, the e-wallet and smartphone will store enormous amounts of personal data­bank and credit records, addresses and contact information, and so on. It is highly secure in point-of-sale transactions, generally regarded as safer than credit cards thanks to encryption, tokenization, and other security features. However, e-wallets are not risk-free. Some of the mobile payment security concerns include security and privacy issues involving the device (usually a smartphone) and so-called app "clones."Managing a complex risk landscapeThe dynamic nature of digital transformation is forcing risk managers and their advisors to move quickly as new digital risks emerge. Digital platform convergence will complicate their jobs even more with the wider introduction of AI and machine learning, the IoT, and other innovations that will introduce new exposures.In some coverage areas, insurance capacity is available for now, but pricing is an issue, varying among insurers and by the business profiles of their clients. As pricing tightens, insurers are getting more into exposure details, including aggregation risks. The COVID19 pandemic has also forced companies to change their business models and operations.Although digital platform convergence has great growth potential for many businesses, companies still need to do a cost-and-benefit analysis to test whether the continuous effort to implementing or augmenting digital platforms will deliver real value, especially in terms of business efficiency, customer satisfaction, and revenue generation. Insurance brokers and risk advisors need to weigh in with the best possible analytics and modeling to support risk identification, quantification, and mitigation efforts and determine the optimal points for transferring the risk to the insurer(s).Risk managers also need more than ever to work closely with their finance counterparts and senior management to identify the risks that are most likely to impact revenue and the company's ability to meet its strategic objectives. Mitigation will be a heightened priority, especially in areas where insurance pricing tightens, including cyber, business interruption, and professional indemnity. The e-wallet isn't just simply a way of transferring cash. It combines digital, biological, and technological innovations with its dependency on touch-or voice-enabled smartphones and the internet
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