New payments platform addresses digital payment needs
Patra has announced the development of PatraPay, a new digital payments service, which will address a significant gap in the market by providing insureds with a method for digital payments, while reducing the time and cost to insurance providers associated with payment processing. PatraPay is the company’s third major technology service introduced in the last year, and will be a significant addition to Patra Cloud, the company’s newest service line, which will house all InsurTech products as the company continues to develop unique technology services that address market needs.
PatraPay will have applications market-wide, including configurable services for agencies, brokers, carriers, MGAs, and wholesalers, as well as the premium finance companies that support them. Along with the new platform, Patra also announced its first customer, National Partners PFco, a national premium finance company (www.NationalPartners.com). National Partners will offer PatraPay to its agents and brokers, enabling them to provide their insureds with digital “pay-in-full” or “pay-over-time” options.
“We’re proud we will be the first organization to offer PatraPay to our customers,” said Bruce Lundy, CEO of National Partners. “We focus on ease-of-use as a key value proposition. Providing insurance buyers with a choice of payment options, available using multiple payment methods, administered through one seamless digital experience is a benefit to all, and not available currently in the commercial insurance market. This service will provide a simple attractive payment experience for the insured, as well as speeding payment and greater efficiency for insurance agencies. Via this National Partners + Patra partnership, we expect to be a market-leader in providing insurance customers with this option.”
Patra’s deep understanding of the insurance industry, alongside strategic input from the market and the company’s customer base illuminated the need for a digital payments service. An estimated 40 percent of insurance payments are made by paper check, which requires an average administrative expense of $27 per transaction for brokers and an average order-to-cash cycle of 45 days, based on interviews with multiple brokerages about their processes. PatraPay expects to reduce the order-to-cash cycle and bind velocity by nearly 90 percent, to five days, and the average expense per transaction by more than 60 percent. Additionally, the ability to provide insureds with a digital payment option answers a growing consumer demand for the industry to modernize and offer standard conveniences seen in other sectors, such as financial and retail markets.
“While digital payments are now a modern standard in most other industries, many insureds still have limited options other than writing paper checks,” said Patra CEO John Simpson. “PatraPay not only provides that convenience to insureds, it will significantly streamline the payment process and reduces overall costs-per-transaction. We are enthusiastic that National Partners has seen the value in this technology, and to have a premier organization as our first partner in this endeavor.”
About Patra
Patra is a leading provider of technology-enabled outsourcing services and software solutions to the insurance industry. Patra powers insurance processes by optimizing the application of people and technology, supporting insurance organizations as they sell, deliver, and manage policies and customers through our PatraOne platform. Patra’s global team of over 6,500 process executives in geopolitically stable and democratic countries that protect data allows agencies/brokerages, MGAs, wholesalers, and carriers to capture the Patra Advantage – profitable growth and organizational value.