2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
$300m in premiums funded per FY
2017
Attvest on a roll with new products
Attvest Finance is forging ahead with its plans to make life easier for brokers and clients when it comes to collecting and paying premiums.
While brokers’ key focus is on placing insurance for their clients, client payments and how they should be handled is often an afterthought.
Making money work efficiently for both broker and client is front of mind for Attvest managing director Johan Steyn.
Attvest’s drive to build more efficiency into customer operating systems comes on the heels of a significant growth period for the country’s fourth-largest premium funder and looks set to underpin its further expansion, possibly even internationally.
“We've increased our market share in the last year, and we are on an aggressive growth path in that we are employing more relationship managers on the East Coast to expand our footprint,” says Steyn.
Attvest currently has around a 13% share of the domestic premium funding market, he adds.
“This financial year, we project to fund in excess of $1bn and deal with more than 600 brokers.”
Easier payment systems
Attvest’s new ATTassist product is currently moving from pilot to a staged rollout for select broker clients. ATTassist helps brokers collect accounts receivables, essentially by outsourcing this task to Attvest.
But rather than providing a simple debt-chasing service, ATTassist works to make client payments more convenient for the customer by optimising payments to suit the business’s cash flow.
“We offer the client a professional collection service [with] multiple payment options,” says Steyn. “It can be an annual payment, monthly, six fortnightlies – whatever fits the client's cash flow profile.”
Once the broker has sold the insurance, Attvest contacts the client to explain the advantages of each of the payment
options and how they fit with different types of cash flow. There are currently five trained staff at the Attvest call centre
in Brisbane who are dedicated to the ATTassist service, with plans to take on more as the program is fully implemented over the next few months.
He says that while the rollout is being done in stages so as to not overshoot internal capacity, ATTassist has generated enough buzz to attract a number of unsolicited requests from brokers completely new to Attvest who want to make use of
its product.
Attvest is also developing a system to assist brokers in offering clients a more efficient way to make payments themselves by executing full payment directly from the PDF invoice and completing the process electronically, which is easier, faster and less prone to error.
After looking at the various types of payments made by insurance customers, Steyn says it was clear that clients were still reliant on manual payment systems that were little removed from posting a cheque.
“We looked at it and said that we could do it better, because we are already interfaced with the broker management system.”
“All the other payment options at the moment are manual, requiring the client to go into his bank account and set up either a payee or beneficiary.” This can lead to mistakes with the reference number, and cause delays and extra work.
Because the client is paying directly from the invoice, the broker is taken out of the equation and doesn’t need to chase up any late payments from clients.
“It will give us the ability to now assist the broker to help collect all these accounts,” Steyn says.
Attvest can also approach these clients to try to convert them to monthly payments, he adds.
Because ATTpay requires a number of changes to the broker management system that are currently in development, the service won’t be implemented until January 2023, when it will be released as an extension of the ATTassist service.
Getting BiiGGA
Another product that is proving popular is Attvest’s BiiGGA, which offers an unsecured merchant cash advance of up to $150,000.
Released in May and made available directly to SMEs, the BiiGGA product line did two loans in May and 29 in June.
“You can just see the momentum; there is a massive requirement out there for unsecured lending in the SME market,”
says Steyn.
So far, the majority of businesses seeking funds have been in the retail sector and transport. It is also very popular among tradesmen, who are making use of the product as well, he says.
“It lends itself to retail because it's linked to turnover. The uniqueness of the product is you repay as a percentage of your turnover, so if your turnover increases you pay more; if it decreases you pay less.”
This flexibility is a major advantage for any business with peak and low seasons.
Steyn says that with monetary policy in a tightening cycle and bank lending criteria becoming more restrictive, demand from SMEs for this product is likely to continue, despite the slightly higher interest payments.
Another part of BiiGGA’s appeal is speed, with most applications being concluded within 24 hours of submission. The process is fully online and automated. Since launch, it has been tweaked a number of times to accommodate borrowers who wanted less restrictive minimum requirements for information.
Steyn urges any applicant who runs into problems during application to contact BiiGGA directly to discuss matters.
BiiGGA is available anywhere in Australia.
Spotlight
The payment method used is whatever suits the client, whether it be direct debit, EFT, credit card or another means.
The product’s pilot phase helped iron out kinks in the system, but a key appeal point is that it enables more efficient use of money at hand, which allows businesses to keep their powder dry for other needs.
“The client receives a consistent professional service to pay his insurance,” says Steyn.
For the broker, the result is more clients converted to monthly payment lines. This leads to better retention at annual renewal time as customers are generally happy to roll over a monthly payment rather than shop around for other options after scrutinising outgoings once a year.
“It's the ease of transaction,” says Steyn.
Attvest Finance is currently the fourth-largest insurance funder in Australia, providing over $900m in funding this year.
It works with more than 500 brokers and authorised representatives nationally and has assisted their clients to improve their working capital and cash flow constraints since its founding in 2016. Attvest’s primary focus is on premium funding, and in 2022 it launched the ATTassist debt collection service, the ATTpay payments solution and the BiiGGA merchant cash advance product.
Company Profile
4th largest
Ranking among Australia's premium funders
13%
Share of domestic premium funding market
>600
No. of brokers Attvest expects to work with this FY
>$1bn
Projected funding this FY
3
New products launched in 2022
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years of Experience
15
Based in
Brisbane
Favourite quote
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
Johan Steyn
Managing director at Attvest Finance
Attvest Finance's managing director
explains how the premium funder is changing the game for payments and funding with innovations that will help both efficiency and the bottom line
Read on
“This financial year, we project to fund in excess of $1bn and are dealing with more than
600 brokers”
Johan Steyn,
Attvest Finance
“You can just see the momentum; there is a massive requirement out there for unsecured lending in the SME market”
Johan Steyn,
Attvest Finance
Share
2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
Milestones
2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2012
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2015
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2016
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2019
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2021
Attvest on a roll with new products
Karen Adams has had a remarkable journey to her current role as CEO of Fundserv. Originally from Toronto, Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics at Queens University, followed by an MBA in international finance at the University of British Columbia. After graduating, she set off across the globe, holding various positions with HSBC that took her to London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai.
That global experience gave Adams a unique perspective, prompting her to develop a leadership style that’s based on developing relationships with each individual, listening and understanding to help them reach their potential. That approach goes well beyond her own team, allowing Fundserv to succeed in creating solutions for its members.
“Having worked in many different countries, people ask if I am an expert in multicultural leadership,” Adams says. “I always say there is no such thing because that assumes you manage people based on their background. I have learned that people all want the same things: to develop our careers, give our kids a good future, etc. When she returned to Canada learned that people all
Because ATTpay requires a number of changes to the broker management system that are currently in development, the service won’t be implemented until October, when it will be released as an extension of the ATTassist service.
Attvest brought its IT development team in-house last year and recently expanded staff in the section to seven full-time workers.
Similar services available elsewhere are generally quite expensive, but ATTpay and ATTassist are both free of charge.
“It's a cost to the broker and a cost to the client [currently], but we can remove it for both and have a more efficient payment,” says Steyn.
He expects ATTpay to be popular simply because it removes so many steps from the way payments occur, saving time, money and work. Both solutions are device-friendly and can be executed from any device, including phones.
Getting BiiGGA
Another product that is proving popular is Attvest’s BiiGGA, which offers an unsecured merchant cash advance of up to $150,000.
Released in May and made available directly to SMEs, the BiiGGA product line did two loans in May and 29 in June.
“You can just see the momentum; there is a massive requirement out there for unsecured lending in the SME market,” says Steyn.
So far, the majority of businesses seeking funds have been in the retail sector, with some in transport, and a lot of tradesmen are making use of it as well, he says.
“It lends itself to retail because it's linked to turnover. The uniqueness of the product is you repay as a percentage of your turnover, so if your turnover increases you pay more; if it decreases you pay less.”
This flexibility is a major advantage for any business with peak and low seasons.
Steyn says that with monetary policy in a tightening cycle and bank lending criteria becoming more restrictive, demand from SMEs for this product is likely to continue, despite the slightly higher interest payments.
Another part of BiiGGA’s appeal is speed, with most applications being concluded within 24 hours of submission. The process is fully online and automated. Since launch, it has been tweaked a number of times to accommodate borrowers who wanted less restrictive minimum requirements for information.
Steyn urges any applicant who runs into problems during application to contact BiiGGA directly to discuss matters.
BiiGGA is available anywhere in Australia.
The two premium funding products, which operate under a different legal entity, will become available in New Zealand if Attvest chooses to expand its mainline premium funding offerings across the Tasman, Steyn adds.
Spotlight
“The client receives a consistent professional service to pay his insurance,” says Steyn.
For the broker, the result is more clients converted to monthly payment lines. This leads to better retention at annual renewal time as customers are generally happy to roll over a monthly payment rather than shop around for other options after scrutinising outgoings once a year.
“It's the ease of transaction,” says Steyn.
He says that while the rollout is being done in stages so as to not overshoot internal capacity, ATTassist has generated enough buzz to attract a number of unsolicited requests from brokers completely new to Attvest who want to make use of the product.
Attvest is also developing a system to assist brokers in offering clients a more efficient way to make payments themselves by executing full payment directly from the PDF invoice and completing the process electronically, which is easier, faster and less prone to error.
After looking at the various types of payments made by insurance customers, Steyn says it was clear that clients were still reliant on manual payment systems that were little removed from posting a cheque.
“We looked at it and said that we could do it better, because we already interfaced with the broker management system.”
Attvest will collect the payment from the client and pay it on their behalf. This reconciles automatically to the invoice in the broker system.
“It's a much more efficient way for the client to pay for his annual insurance premium; you can execute from the document,” says Steyn.
“All the other payment options at the moment are manual, requiring the client to go into his bank account and set up either a payee or beneficiary.” This can lead to mistakes with the reference number, and cause delays and extra work.
Because the client is paying directly from the invoice, the broker is taken out of the equation and doesn’t need to chase up any late payments from clients.
“It will give us the ability to now assist the broker to help collect all these accounts,” Steyn says.
Attvest can also approach these clients to try to convert them to monthly payments, he says.
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
1983
Ranking among Australia's premium funders
13%
Share of domestic premium funding market
>600
PROPORTION OF WOMEN AMONG FUNDSERV EMPLOYEES
>$1bn
PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
63,514,128
NUMBER OF ORDERS PROCESSED IN 2019
“This financial year, we project to fund in excess of $1bn and are dealing with more than 600 brokers”
Johan Steyn,
Attvest Finance
“You can just see the momentum; there is a massive requirement out there for unsecured lending in the SME market”
Johan Steyn,
Attvest Finance
Years of Experience
15
Tenure at current position
2017 - Present
BAsed In
Brisbane
Favourite quote
“You miss 100% of the shots you
don’t take”
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
Share
Share
2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
Milestones
2011
2012
2015
2016
2019
2021
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2012
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2015
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2016
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2019
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2021
Attvest on a roll with new products
Karen Adams has had a remarkable journey to her current role as CEO of Fundserv. Originally from Toronto, Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics at Queens University, followed by an MBA in international finance at the University of British Columbia. After graduating, she set off across the globe, holding various positions with HSBC that took her to London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai.
That global experience gave Adams a unique perspective, prompting her to develop a leadership style that’s based on developing relationships with each individual, listening and understanding to help them reach their potential. That approach goes well beyond her own team, allowing Fundserv to succeed in creating solutions for its members.
“Having worked in many different countries, people ask if I am an expert in multicultural leadership,” Adams says. “I always say there is no such thing because that assumes you manage people based on their background. I have learned that people all want the same things: to develop our careers, give our kids a good future, etc. When she returned to Canada learned that people all
He says that while the rollout is being done in stages so as to not overshoot internal capacity, ATTassist has generated enough buzz to attract a number of unsolicited requests from brokers completely new to Attvest who want to make use of the product.
Attvest is also developing a system to assist brokers in offering clients a more efficient way to make payments themselves by executing full payment directly from the PDF invoice and completing the process electronically, which is easier, faster and less prone to error.
After looking at the various types of payments made by insurance customers, Steyn says it was clear that clients were still reliant on manual payment systems that were little removed from posting a cheque.
“We looked at it and said that we could do it better, because we already interfaced with the broker management system.”
Attvest will collect the payment from the client and pay it on their behalf. This reconciles automatically to the invoice in the broker system.
“It's a much more efficient way for the client to pay for his annual insurance premium; you can execute from the document,” says Steyn.
“All the other payment options at the moment are manual, requiring the client to go into his bank account and set up either a payee or beneficiary.” This can lead to mistakes with the reference number, and cause delays and extra work.
Because the client is paying directly from the invoice, the broker is taken out of the equation and doesn’t need to chase up any late payments from clients.
“It will give us the ability to now assist the broker to help collect all these accounts,” Steyn says.
Attvest can also approach these clients to try to convert them to monthly payments, he says.
Because ATTpay requires a number of changes to the broker management system that are currently in development, the service won’t be implemented until October, when it will be released as an extension of the ATTassist service.
While she’s proud of the strides Fundserv made in 2020, Adams acknowledges that it was a challenging time as a leader. Not only did she have to ensure Fundserv kept running efficiently as her team transitioned to working from home, but she was also filled with concern for her team members.
“I just worried about our employees, their mental health and if they would be OK,” Adams says. “I like to see people, so I set up one-on-ones just to connect with them.
Moving forward, Adams says Fundserv’s goals remain aligned with those of its members, and her team will continue listening and understanding what members need so the organization can evolve accordingly. She adds that she wants Fundserv to be so good at providing a secure and reliable service that members forget it’s there – and she wants the company to continue to inspire change in the industry.
“It is sad that it took a pandemic to recog-nize the cheque issue and solve it,” Adams says. “What we will do in the future is root out those things in the industry and not wait for a pandemic to ignite change. There is no reason we can’t change. Change, like auto-mation, will accelerate from now, and we’ll do our part to keep it going.”
Spotlight
Fundserv is the indispensable connectivity hub for the Canadian investment industry. Headquartered in Toronto, we electronically connect Manufacturers, Distributors, and Intermediaries, enabling them to buy, sell, and transfer investment funds. With more than 100 employees, Fundserv serves hundreds of members—executing up to 63 million yearly network transactions—and provides online access to more than 70,000 investment fund products.
Established in 1993, Fundserv is a private corporation that is owned by the industry we serve. Our 10 shareholders are a cross-section of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Service Providers who represent our members.
We operate using a cost-recovery model, meaning any unused profit may be rebated back to our members. In addition to our network and applications, we lead and facilitate industry committees and working groups that promote automation initiatives and establish the industry’s electronic standards.
By ensuring every trade is processed timely, accurately, and securely, Fundserv has rightfully earned a reputation for service excellence—a hallmark of more than 25 years in the investment industry.
Company Profile
1983
Ranking among Australia's premium funders
13%
Share of domestic premium funding market
>600
PROPORTION OF WOMEN AMONG FUNDSERV EMPLOYEES
>$1bn
PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
63,514,128
NUMBER OF ORDERS PROCESSED IN 2019
Years of Experience
15
Tenure at current position
2017 - Present
BAsed In
Brisbane
Fast Facts
“You miss 100% of the shots you
don’t take”
Karen Adams
President and CEO at Fundserv
Career highlight
Before becoming CEO of Fundserv, Karen Adams held a variety of leadership roles around the world – and she learned that listening and understanding are key to both providing service and developing talent
Read on
“This financial year, we project to fund in excess of $1bn and are dealing with more than 600 brokers”
Johan Steyn,
Attvest Finance
“You can just see the momentum; there is a massive requirement out there for unsecured lending in the SME market”
Johan Steyn,
Attvest Finance
IN Partnership with
In Partnership with
In Partnership with
2017
2019
2020
2021
2019
2022
$300m in premiums funded per FY
2017
$500m in premiums funded per FY
2019
Successful management buyout in March
2020
$750m in premiums funded per year
2021
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2019
$900m in premiums funded per year; successfully launched BiiGGA merchant cash advance product in May
2022
Milestones
– Wayne Gretzky
Attvest brought its IT development team in-house last year and recently expanded staff in the section to seven full-time workers.
Similar services available elsewhere are generally quite expensive, but ATTpay and ATTassist are both free of charge.
“It's a cost to the broker and a cost to the client [currently], but we can remove it for both and have a more efficient payment,” says Steyn.
He expects ATTpay to be popular simply because it removes so many steps from the way payments occur, saving time, money and work.
Both solutions are device-friendly and can be executed from any device, including phones.
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Copyright © 2022 Key Media
People
Terms & conditions
Privacy policy
Conditions of use
About us
Contact us
RSS
Asia
NZ
AU
CA
US
UK
contact us
specialty
Best Insurance
Resources
RISK MANAGEMENT
FEATURES
TV
News
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
People
Terms & conditions
Privacy policy
Conditions of use
About us
Contact us
RSS
Asia
NZ
AU
CA
US
UK
contact us
specialty
Best Insurance
Resources
RISK MANAGEMENT
FEATURES
TV
News