technology Archives | Page 5 of 7

Download The App That Can Keep All Your Insurance Policies In 1 Place

Insurance is a safeguard against unfortunate and unforeseen events. It is a strategic way to manage various risks. Insurance companies offer individuals or policyholders protection from potential losses in exchange of payments called premiums.

To manage your policy letters better, insurance companies offered their own apps. It sounds like a great idea for people who possess a couple of policies from different insurance companies. However, it is quite a chore for people who hold several policy documents. That is when PolicyPal comes in.

PolicyPal, developed when a startup took part in the Startupbootcamp FinTech Singapore, is a versatile platform that gathers all the policy documents from a wide array of insurers. It provides you with a “digital overview and analysis of your existing policies to identify any protection gap in your insurance portfolio and help you to better understand your coverage.”

Image Credits: facebook.com/hipolicypal

HOW IT STARTED

Ms. Valenzia Yap is the brainchild behind PolicyPal. About two years ago, Valenzia’s mother was diagnosed with a serious illness. Her mother was diagnosed with one of the most notorious illnesses across the globe – CANCER. The unfortunate turn of events did not stop there. She was surprisingly rejected by the insurance company because of several lapses that they were not aware of.

The inconvenience that she went through while sorting out her mother’s policy letters gave her an idea to digitize the collation of the insurance policies and other documents. So, Valenzia collaborated with two programmers named Rick Wong and Jun Wei Ng to create the PolicyPal. Necessity was truly the mother of invention this time around.

ITS CURRENT SITUATION

This impressive app received over a thousand of users since its launch. Majority of these users are either on their late 20s or early 30s. Interestingly, their policies range from 1 to 12. These information simply shows how a significant number of Singaporeans are conscious about their health and safety choices.

THE EASY PROCESS

In simpler terms, PolicyPal follows these steps:

1. Capture an image of your policy’s first page.
2. Taking a snap of the second page is only necessary if you have riders.
3. Wait for the app to process your data. It will analyze the policy number, premiums, coverage, and expiration dates.
4. View your premiums and coverage in a graphical overview or a comprehensive chart.
5. Request for a review.
6. Get a free portfolio review to understand your coverage its gaps.
7. Purchase from the available policies if necessary.

Image Credits: facebook.com/hipolicypal

Eager to get your very own PolicyPal app, visit policypal.co to download it for FREE!

MORE FINTECH APPS

There are other incredible financial technology startups that originated from the Lion City aside from PolicyPal. These startups came up with smartphone apps that make financial services more efficient, convenient, and prompt. They challenge the traditional businesses that are less reliant on the potency of software.

Do yourself a favor and know more about the Call Levels (i.e., providing live updates for traders and investors), the TradeHero (i.e., gamifies trading), and the Dragon Wealth app (i.e., one-stop shop for financial advisors)!

Source: 1 & 2

Local Tech Startups That You Do Not Want To Miss!

As I was looking for the textbook definition for “Technology Startups”, I was surprised with the scarcity of written works that directly answer my question. Try to Google “What is a technology startup?” to see for yourself. Hence, I must define the term by dissecting each word – much like how Lance Weatherby addressed the situation.

According to Weatherby, defining a startup is the easy part. He was right! A startup is a company that it is in its first stage of operations. The founders of a startup often attempt to make money by developing product or service that they deem to be in demand. Startups are all about finding a market and a business model that works. Skype and Airbnb were once examples of tech startups but they have since grown to become established companies.

On the other hand, defining technology can be quite difficult. Technology is a broad and pervasive scope that encompasses something as simple as a wheel to something as complicated as an IPhone. In terms of technology startup, something must be made as a result of engineering or science.

Tech startups are on a mission to offer something to solve a problem in a different manner. In general, tech startups are unique and innovative.

On that note, here are some of the amazing tech startups in Singapore:

HIPVAN

Since its inception in 2013 with a funding of S$500,000, HipVan has been making waves regionally due to its lifestyle design inspirations and great sales. HipVan is a fashion-tech startup founded by Danny Tan, Kevin Vo, Deborah Wee, and Shobhit Datta. It is an online store that offers up to 70% off the retail prices of furniture, accessories, kitchen-wares, and so much more. Check their collections at www.hipvan.com.

Image Credits: www.facebook.com/thehipvan

BURPPLE

Ranking as #9 in Singapore at startupranking.com, Burpple shines from the rest due to its clever and beautiful way of discovering and sharing food experiences. You know how Singaporeans love MAKAN! Burpple allows its users to submit eatery listings and reviews with appropriate photographs. It is now downloadable on both the App Store and Google Play.

VAULT DRAGON

Founded by Vishesh Mittal and Tseng Ching-Tse, the Vault Dragon is basically your “Dropbox” for tangible items such as your secondary school books and holiday sweaters. You simply have to put the items on the storage boxes they delivered (i.e., free delivery of storage boxes but you can use your own too) and they will collect it and store it securely. Worry not about the prices as they are all affordable!

Communication is done through their website or through their number: +65 9385 9924.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1,2, & 3

The Future Of Money: No Paper Currencies And Plastic Cards

Money is an integral part of our lives. Its birth dates back to the beginning of the civilization. Now, money is viewed as a legal tender generally consisting of paper currency and coins. Time and technology paved a way for money to transform beyond its value. Interacting with money is far different from when we traded thousands of years ago.

In fact, a decade ago, I never thought that digital currency in the form of bitcoins will ever occur. Bitcoins can only be made by mining, which is done by solving complicated mathematical problems. Also, bitcoins are capped so that no one can ever create an unlimited supply of it.

Interestingly, the designers at a global design firm called Method envisioned the future of money in different ways. These are just three of their ideas:

1. MONEY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Method looked at what can happen when you connect your physical well-being to your purchases. They designed a toothbrush that would harvest hormonal data from one’s saliva twice a day. This said data would sync to your spending habits through an App. The App would give you an idea about the items you are buying and why you are buying them. Thus, this can help explain and monitor your spending.

2. MONEY WITH A PERSONALITY

Method took the futuristic concept further by give money a personality. Five employees were assigned with digital personalities such as Mindful, Jealous, Hedonistic, Adventurous, and Frugal. For example, the employee with the Adventurous personality would fork over half of his salary and invest it in cryptocurrencies for a week.

3. MONEY AND PUBLICITY

If your payments were publicize, what would you do? Well, designers at Method were asked to note and broadcast their every purchase! Once an employee buys something, he or she is required to post it on Instagram no matter how embarrassing it may be. Yes! Since it can be very uncomfortable, they started to share their purchases anonymously. But, the effects were still the same. People knew that they are being watched so they modified their behavior to become more interesting and to seem socially acceptable.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (License: CC0 Public Domain)

Aside from these futuristic ideas, how do you envision money…5 or 20 years from now?

Sources: 1 & 2

26 Smartest Companies: Leading In Innovation, Technology, And Success Worldwide

Some say that there is nothing left to be invented as humanity reached its outpouring potential. But various technology companies begged to disprove that statement! This is why MIT Technology Review did an extensive research of global companies that are smart in terms of their innovative technology and business model. Said business model must be both practical and ambitious.

From renewable energy products to saving lives of people with lung cancer and landing unmanned rockets, these are the World’s 26 Smartest Companies to date:

26. Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb, from New York City, took a leap at immunotherapy by selling a drug called Opdivo. Opdivo helps save lives of people who are suffering from lung and skin cancer.

25. Universal Robots

From Denmark, Universal Robots sell user-friendly and relatively affordable robots.

24. Freescale Semiconductor

Its pioneering technology is planned to be used in cars’ advanced computer vision systems.

23. Sakti3

Sakti3, from Michigan, makes solid-state batteries that store more energy than lithium-ion batteries.

22. SpaceX

SpaceX, progressing in landing and reusing unmanned rockets, had completed 9 missions in the last year.

21. Baidu

All the way from China, Baidu is an Internet company that reached undeniable results in speech and facial recognition.

20. Aquion Energy

Interestingly, Aquion Energy’s novel batteries can store solar energy and surplus wind.

19. Amgen

California’s Amgen has an Icelandic gene database that helps it decide which drug to develop.

18. IDE Technologies

IDE Technologies of Kadima, Israel offers more inexpensive water desalination.

17. Voxel8

After creating the world’s first 3-D electronics printer, Voxel8 is promising to make new materials such as conductive ink.

16. Apple

This list would not be complete without the creative minds of Apple. Its Apple Pay technology and new smart watch had its consumers in awe.

15. Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences from California had over US$3.6 billion in the first three months of sales for curing most cases of Hepatitis C.

14. AliveCor

AliveCor created a heart monitor that connects to a Smartphone, which automatically detects irregular heartbeats.

13. Amazon

With about US$89 billion sales in 2014, Amazon use robots to make its facilities more productive.

Image Credits: Carlos Luna via Flickr with Creative Commons License

12. Google

Another company from California, Google’s loon balloons are designed to widen the access of Internet.

11. OvaScience

OvaScience’s stem-cell treatment help conceived its first baby.

10. Netflix

A crowd favorite, Netflix had created original content and distribution deals with cable companies.

9. SolarCity

SolarCity is manufacturer of solar panels that served about 177,000 United States citizens.

8. Juno Therapeutics

Seattle’s Juno Therapeutics had raised US$304 million to test cancer treatments using one’s immune cells.

7. Tencent

Tencent from Shenzhen, China is China’s most-used Internet service portal.

6. SunEdison

SunEdison had been expanding its renewable energy products and building technology to provide electricity to several developing countries.

5. Counsyl

Its relatively cheap DNA tests aids in parental planning. Furthermore, they are now selling cancer screens.

4. Alibaba

A household name, Alibaba is considered as the world’s largest online retailer. More than half of its regular transactions are made through its Alipay digital wallet.

3. Illumina

Another biomedical company, Illumina developed quick DNA-reading machines for hospitals and cancer clinics.

2. Xiaomi

Xiaomi from China is one of the fast-growing Smartphone retailers that are obviously more affordable than Apple products. Its most recent valuation is about US$45 billion.

1. Tesla Motors

Top on the list is the Tesla Motors from California. Its adventurous ideas include electrical cars and battery technologies that are applicable for cars, homes, and commercial infrastructures.

Image Credits: Maurizio Pesce via Flickr with Creative Commons License

Will a Singaporean company emerge to the top of the list someday? I certainly hope so. 🙂

Source: 1

In The Near Future, MasterCard Will Authorize Payments Via Selfie

Imagine if you can pay an online shop as quick as a taking a Selfie, how easy would that be?

Most of us are aware of how lengthy it really is to send money or pay your purchases online. Aside from remembering your passwords, you will be tasked to verify it with a code or PIN sent via SMS or via a security token (know more about the security token, here). These steps of authorization are called two-factor authentication as it involves “what you know” (e.g., 6-digit password) and “something you have” (e.g., verification code).

But as our technology progresses, companies have pushed ways to improve our lives by making things quicker and more efficient. This is why MasterCard is testing out a new way of payment authorization that utilizes fingerprint scanning and facial recognition.

Biometrics, measurement and analysis of unique physical characteristics, is the underlying tech that enables this type of authorization to work. I bet our ancestors would not think that this would soon be possible! MasterCard is now closely working with Google, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry to introduce this project.

As passwords are likely to experience breaching, your fingerprints and facial features are less susceptible. You may be aware that swift touch of a fingerprint scanner is something Samsung and Apple have already implemented. On the other hand, facial recognition is made through taking a Selfie. I for one thought that one can cheat the system by using a photograph, but the system do not work that way. MasterCard holders are required to blink to indicate that they are live human beings.

Fast forward to that day, are you going welcome this new payment method with open arms?

Even an innovative step as astounding as this cannot please everyone, especially the generations prior to the Millennials (Generation Y). One thing is for sure though, if this method is successful, companies may work on other possible authorization methods such as voice recognition or heartbeat pattern checking.

Are you ready for that?

Image Credits: Robert Scoble via Flickr with Creative Commons License

Sources: 1 & 2

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