Preceding to his presentation at DIA Munich 2022, we talked to KOBIL’s Özgür Koyun, KOBIL’s Head of Products & Services about Super Apps and the opportunities for insurers to eat now or be eaten.  

KOBIL has been securing identities in financial markets for more than 30 years. The company provides a software platform to protect banking apps from cyber-attacks, providing strong customer authentication and digital signatures. The company also secured electronic health records and protects digital communication of all kinds of insurances to create trusted, and easy-to-use digital processes between an insurance company and its customers.  

Today the company brings everything together in the KOBIL Super App, meant as a ready-to-use app or as a development framework, that allows insurers to build a single platform with additional mini apps to offer a wide range of features that have proven to super-charge the customer experience in a trusted market. 

You mention the term Super App, what do you mean by that?  

“You can compare it to what Alibaba and Amazon did in their industry. Ecosystem and Super Apps will disrupt the insurance business for sure. You can check Gartner reports e.g. on the hype cycle. The only question is whether insurance will be part of a stranger’s ecosystem and thus exchangeable, or whether a company will be able to become a finance/ insurance ecosystem and thus their customers’ central entry point into that world. This change will come, and insurance will be a service amongst many services. Still, a service provided by an insurance company but provided under another brand.  

That is why we like to discuss the ‘super app topic’ and understand threats and chances for insurers. And that is why we developed our end-to-end and ‘ready-to-use-and- customize KOBIL SHIFT Super App technology’. Allowing insurance companies to change the way they organize, offer and change their business.”

Can you give a bit more insight in this Super App and its opportunities?  

“Insurance, money and (future) provision are important themes for everyone. And there are more and more digital offerings that tap into this via services, websites and apps. Only one of these offerings is the classical insurance contract. And the biggest hassle of all? People have to get in contact with all those offerings, download them, register and proof identity set a password and organize contacts via mail etcetera.  

Now imagine a situation with an ecosystem and super app where an insurance company can integrate all those (own and 3rd-party) services via an API layer into their own app, like in a digital marketplace. Making all these services available with one click and a single sign-on. No more lavish identification and registration, no downloads, no passwords. One branded insurance app that gives direct access to all kinds of services, apps and websites and digital processes that are integrated and created using a workflow engine. Customers log in by entering the needed data and digitally sign with a one-click experience.  

Companies being part of this super app can use the big data from this super app to personalize and individualize their services and offerings and contact users via bidirectional messaging and broadcasting. All technology is cloud-based and offers an agile way of adapting the app and its content on a daily base without any big IT projects.” 

This sounds amazing, but are there any examples out there?  

“One example is the Istanbul Senin app. It is a KOBIL SHIFT Super App-based city app for its more than 14 million inhabitants. The inhabitants of Istanbul download and register once and hold the whole city of Istanbul and its services in one hand, including a variety of services, shops and companies in Istanbul. Including payment functionalities.  

Another example is a big bank that is currently developing a super app with KOBIL SHIFT Super App to open the banking app to fintech companies and create a finances super app full of banking, wallets and fintech services for millions of users. So, in our view, this bank becomes more valuable, gets more customers and customer data plus it reduces costs through digital e2e-processes and agility without coding and IT projects. This is caused by our low-code, no-code approach for all settings and functionalities, which basically means no IT resources are used to adapt the app and its offerings.” 

What is your biggest advice or learning on using the Super App?  

“It takes a technology stack full of functionalities to create your agile ecosystem and Super App. But most of all it requires a strategic approach to move from the existing way of doing (insurance) business to a totally new way of thinking. Successful digitalization does not mean digitizing one little step in a process with another. It means thinking outside the box and start thinking of a new strategic approach to offering everything an insurance client needs in a fully digital and agile way. Because people are lazy kings and queens who want it all in one app that is easy to use and safe in protecting identity and data.” 

How do you look at the future with regard to the Super App? 

“Super apps are more than a vision. They are existing today and it is not only Amazon or Alibaba. And there will be more and more in industries like finance, retail, healthcare, gaming, smart cities et cetera. What we see is that companies in countries outside of Europe and the US, find it easier to think this way and create a Super App and ecosystem strategy. They invest a lot of money in such strategies and technologies and have the strong potential to draw away millions of users from western companies. Some of us will notice this early enough and change strategies to ‘Ecosystem and Super App’ thinking. Others will not. They will become part of someone else’s Super App or simply fade away. 

One of the challenges is to think in this direction without knowing that such technologies and possibilities are existing. That is why we want to share our story at DIA Munich 2022. Giving insurers the confidence to build up a Super App with KOBIL’s existing technology. 

And to already give you one of our conclusions: when you go after a Super App, make sure you establish services that are easy to use. Without paper, PDFs, media breaks and waiting time. Think of a one-click experience. Those services will have to be agile, allowing the insurer to change them by themselves whenever they want to. Without any IT project or waiting for a slot in the release cycle of apps and other software. Companies will be successful if they offer what their customers need regardless of whether they offer it themselves or whether they integrate a partner.” 

Who is KOBIL GnbH? 

Founded by Ismet Koyun in 1986 in Worms, KOBIL is providing software to protect data and identities in the finance industry mostly. Mr. Koyun still owns 100% of the shares. The company has offices in Germany and Turkey.  

The software is used worldwide with a focus on Europe. KOBIL is strongly moving into the Super App and ecosystem world with its technology ready to use and customize yet securing identities will always be the cornerstone of every digital communication. 

“Getting the Best out of Technology is the Art”

Ismet Koyun, Founder & CEO, KOBIL