Digitalizing pension sector

Opportunities to digitalize the pension sector was the focus of yesterday’s discussions at the third MENA Pension Conference 2018 The session, held under the title ‘The Future was yesterday - The FinTech Talk Show Pension and Investment in Digital Ecosystem’, looked into the possibilities of how DC (Defied Contribution) Pension would look like in a digital future.

Cyril Ghanem, a Digital Transformation Advocate, told tribune, “My conversation was mainly on how companies should start working on startups, and what is the way to integrate Fintech and new technologies into this current world.” He said the emphasis is also on how major companies have started to offer digital wallet “where all the information of the consumer gets stored which will further help in simplifying pension schemes.”

He, however, warned that the pension sector is going through a very tough time with the forecast doesn’t look too promising. “Introducing Fintech may not solve all the problems,” he told Tribune adding that it, however, will definitely help in reducing costs, enhancing processes, better-serving customers, supporting education and “most importantly offering better transparency and offering a faster, safer way to roll into pension schemes.”

The solution, he said, might not be one simple Fintech but a collaboration of many Fintech. “We would be able to come with a right solution, as at one point we will be having more people receiving pensions than contributing.” Explaining further, Tania Bearryman Head of Performance & Reward Management, Intertrust Group, UK further said, “The region has the same problem that many other countries have that is to encourage people to save their retirement as government nowadays don’t have the resources and the finances to support in their old age anymore and people are living longer.”