Now Health International Advances Digital Strategy With New Mobile Pass Launch

Now Health International Group  has launched a new, environmentally conscious mobile pass membership card to enhance the customer experience as part of its ambitious digital strategy.

Now Health International is one of the first specialist IPMI providers to launch a mobile pass, and this new innovation enables its members to download a digital version of their membership card straight to their smartphone wallet. This new innovation has initially been launched globally with Now Health International’s new mid—tier product, SimpleCare, which is a digital only plan, and will be rolled out to all other customers later this year.

Developed in partnership with leading mobile wallet technology company PassKit, the new mobile pass allows members to access vital plan information instantly including their membership number, plan expiry date and whether any co-insurance or deductible applies. It is also fully integrated with Now Health International’s existing digital tools, including smartphone App and secure online portfolio, and features a simple click to call feature for a seamless online experience.

The mobile pass is currently available for both Apple Wallet and Google Pay, and the company is exploring rolling it out to WeChat Pay in the future. It is also available in four languages – English, Bahasa, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese – to cater for the company’s global membership base.

The launch of the mobile pass membership card supports the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce its impact on the environment by reducing the need for printed membership cards. Members with the newly launched digital SimpleCare plans will only receive a mobile pass and no printed membership card. For customers with other plans, the business has an ambition to drive down the number of members with physical cards and paper plans to only 30% of the book within five years, and the new mobile pass is central to this strategy.

A new scanning App for medical providers is also being launched alongside the mobile pass to enable providers within the Now Health International network to validate a member’s coverage. Medical facilities can use the specialised App to scan a member’s mobile pass and instantly see whether the patient’s cover is valid, as well as other helpful information such as if the member is entitled to direct billing. The mobile pass draws down information in real time from the Now Health International database, meaning it provides greater certainty to providers than a printed card which may become outdated.

Martin Garcia, Executive Chairman commented, “We are one of the first international health insurance providers to launch a mobile pass for our members, which is yet further evidence of our continued commitment to be the leading innovator in our industry. Our new mobile 2 pass membership card is a key milestone in our ongoing digital journey as we work to integrate new technologies across all aspects of our business, for the benefit of both our customers and our operations”.

Alison Massey, Group Marketing Director added, “Our mission is to make international health insurance hassle free and this new innovation makes it even easier and faster for our members to access their plan when on the move. From the outset it was important that the mobile pass complemented our existing digital tools to enhance the overall customer experience, while also supporting our ambition to reduce our impact on the environment. We encourage all our digitally savvy members to join us in going green, and adopting the mobile pass in favour of a printed membership card”.

Patrick Kosterman, Vice President, Engineering & Enterprise Solutions at PassKit said, “Mobile pass technology is becoming increasingly popular, with Apple Wallet and Google Pay usage growing more than 300% year on year. Now Health is the first international health insurance provider we have seen truly utilise and leverage the mobile wallet to its full potential, from providing their members with a convenient way to access plan information, through to enhancing plan validation and claim submission. Companies are constantly finding innovative ways to leverage mobile wallet technology to better engage their customer base, and we’re confident that Now Health members will benefit from this innovation”.