“If you want to get promoted, you’ve got to do the things that we do to operate Accenture. These are the new tools to operate a company. We didn’t go from zero to ‘you won’t get promoted’ in a month. It’s over three years of getting used to the technology, making sure it’s user-friendly, making sure we have the right workbench for people to use, and then saying, Hey, this is Accenture and how we operate,” Julie Sweet said during the Rapid Response podcast, hosted in March 2026.

Asserting that AI is now the main tool for work, the Accenture CEO compared the technology’s push to the use of computers in offices.

“No one would have said that requiring someone to use a computer is coercion. It’s how the companies were going to get work done. Today, AI at Accenture is how we do work,” she said.

In September 2025, Accenture invested more than USD 865 million in a six-month business optimisation programme. The roadmap advocated for reskilling thousands of employees with AI, while removing those who declined to adapt to the tech. In fact, as Generative AI emerged in 2023, with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the IT giant unveiled an ambitious three-year plan worth USD 3 billion to bring the technology into the core of its organisational fold. As part of this initiative, the venture set out a goal of expanding its AI talent pool to 80,000 professionals, through new hiring, strategic acquisitions and large-scale training programmes. Today, the consulting giant has a workforce of more than 770,000 employees worldwide.

During her interaction with the podcast host Bob Safian, Julie Sweet also acknowledged the challenges of adapting to a new technology. Further stating that organisations prefer practicing caution about bringing AI into their operations, the Accenture boss stated that companies cannot simply add the technology to their outdated systems and expect quick results. Instead, they need to redesign their workflows around the technology.

Julie Sweet’s Vision

Born in 1967 in Tustin, California, Julie Sweet started her academic career at Claremont McKenna College, where she majored in international relations and earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. She later enrolled at Columbia Law School to learn more about law and international affairs. In 1992, she graduated with a Juris Doctor from that institution, a significant achievement that influenced the beginning of her professional career.

In 2023, Julie Sweet became the highest-paid woman CEO, earning approximately USD 34 million, after starting her career as an attorney at the prestigious law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore and eventually becoming the CEO of Accenture. Her career success has also translated into personal wealth, with a net worth estimated to be between USD 75 million and USD 126 million, reportedly based on public filings and her stock holdings.

Under her leadership, Accenture has doubled down on AI as the core of its business principles. In March 2026, it made an investment in DaVinci Commerce, a leader in agentic AI-powered commerce, where AI systems increasingly shape the discovery, evaluation and purchase of products.

With AI becoming a primary interface for shopping, commerce is transforming from a human-led search to browsing to AI agents, which take over the tasks like researching, recommending and transacting on behalf of consumers.

“Accenture will now work with DaVinci Commerce to help clients operationalise agentic commerce across the full value chain—from discovery and merchandising through checkout, fulfilment and loyalty. The collaboration reflects growing demand from brands looking to modernise owned commerce platforms and commerce media strategies for AI-driven engagement,” the IT giant announced.

Accenture has also agreed to acquire Ookla, a global leader in network intelligence, competitive benchmarking and customer experience analytics. By integrating Ookla’s data products like Speedtest, Downdetector, Ekahau, and RootMetrics, Accenture will help Communications Service Providers (CSPs), hyperscalers, and enterprises optimise the mission-critical Wi-Fi and 5G networks that power their digital core.

While the AI era is witnessing rapid layoffs in tech sectors, as companies pursue lean, productive and performance-driven organisational structures, Accenture is increasing its recruitment of entry-level professionals across global markets, with Julie Sweet holding the view that recent graduates may actually be better prepared to thrive in an AI-powered workplace.

Given that these graduates are tech-savvy in their academic and professional routines, the Accenture CEO believes that familiarity with technology will give Accenture’s fresh hires an advantage over the legacy workforce. Instead of following the trend of eliminating junior roles in exchange for AI, the IT venture is restructuring job responsibilities to align with the technology’s growing use.

Along with automating repetitive tasks, Accenture is placing greater push on human-driven capabilities such as problem-solving, strategic thinking and communication, with Julie Sweet telling the Rapid Response podcast that entry-level roles will remain essential, as they serve as the foundation for developing future experienced professionals.

“Training programmes for new hires have also been redesigned. The company is placing a stronger focus on communication skills, strategic thinking and the practical use of AI technologies,” she added.

AI has also emerged as Accenture’s growth engine, as it reported advanced AI bookings of about USD 2.2 billion in the first quarter of FY26, reflecting strong year-on-year growth, while revenues related to the technology reached roughly USD 1.1 billion. Since FY25, the firm has secured around USD 11.5 billion worth of advanced AI projects, earning about USD 4.8 billion.

The post Business Leader of the Week: Julie Sweet-led Accenture is creating AI-powered workforce appeared first on International Finance.

Other significant players were Embark Ventures, The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre (MassCEC), Safar Partners, Climate Investment and Marathon Petroleum Corporation. The venture will now use the fresh capital to scale its business, apart from financing the deployment of a modular filtration platform into the refining and chemical sectors.

Via Separations’ expertise lies in providing filtration systems designed to lower energy use in industrial separation processes by up to 90%, apart from significantly reducing emissions in industrial processing.

Electrifying Heat-based Separation

“Via Separations is a membrane technology company driving the transition from expensive, energy-intensive thermal separations to efficient, lower-cost filtration. Via is operating at commercial scale, delivering value to industrial customers today with no green premium. Via Separations is a membrane technology company driving the transition from expensive, energy-intensive thermal separations to efficient, lower-cost filtration. Via is operating at commercial scale, delivering value to industrial customers today with no green premium,” the start-up explained itself through these words.

Via electrifies heat-based separation with modular filtration systems that integrate directly with existing industrial equipment, reducing the energy required for chemical separations in the process.

“These thermal separation steps account for roughly 12% of global energy use, driving significant fuel and steam demand across industrial separations. By replacing them with a mechanically driven membrane process, Via’s system can reduce energy use at the separation step by up to 90%, delivering lower operating costs, higher uptime, and a more flexible pathway to energy efficiency and electrification,” Via Separations remarked.

Via Separations’ membrane technology uses up to 90% less energy than traditional evaporation or distillation because it is a physical separation, rather than a thermal process. In the start-up’s language, “these membranes work like a coffee filter or pasta strainer, but for chemicals.”

These materials are made of a unique source called graphene oxide (GO), which is extremely stable in nature, ensuring the membranes withstand high temperature and corrosive process conditions, where typical polymer membranes don’t work at all. Via Separations has already proven the membrane technology at commercial scale in the pulp and paper sector, approaching two years of continuous operation at a Canadian pulp mill. The start-up is now expanding the technology’s deployment into refining and chemicals, with hundreds of millions of dollars of capital projects in the commercial pipeline. In 2025, the company also completed a pilot at a major Gulf Coast refinery.

The Via Ecosystem

Through its filtration systems, the start-up is driving both bottom- and top-line improvements for its industrial customers, reducing energy costs, apart from providing operational flexibility and de-bottlenecking production.

The start-up has tuned its durable graphene oxide membranes to perform challenging industrial separations across markets. The start-up continued, “Complete system integrates Via membranes into customers’ existing processes in a compact footprint. Via systems deliver quality separations while reducing costs, energy, and production bottlenecks.”

A very good example of Via Separations’ industrial innovation has been its first commercial-scale Black Liquor Concentration System (BLCS), which is operational at the International Paper site in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. The global pulp and paper industry, known for annually producing over 400 million tonnes of paper, packaging, and tissue from wood fibres and recycled materials, faces one challenge: black liquor recovery. We are talking about the most capital and energy-intensive component of a Kraft pulp mill, which burns waste cooking liquor (12%-15% solids) in a specialised boiler to produce energy (steam/electricity) and recover inorganic cooking chemicals.

To address the challenge, Via has created Black Liquor Concentration System (BLCS), which concentrates weak black liquor before evaporation, translating to cost savings and operational benefits for pulp mills.

“Via’s Black Liquor Concentration System (BLCS) displaces steam use in evaporators using a reverse-osmosis-like process to directly remove hot, clean water from weak black liquor (WBL). The compact BLCS integrates into existing mill footprints to concentrate WBL up to 40% solids,” the start-up said.

Via Separations’ efficient concentration process eliminates production bottlenecks and reduces the energy consumption of black liquor concentration by up to 50%. The technology, if widely deployed, will help pulp mills realise additional free cash flow in the millions of dollars per year.

In the petrochemical industry, despite heavy crudes becoming more prevalent, refineries are facing limited capabilities when it comes to processing the fuel due to the size of the vacuum distillation unit (VDU). To solve this, Via filtration system is increasing the VDU capacity, reducing costs and energy consumption while unlocking additional heavy crude processing capacity.

Via’s innovations have been expanding in the chemical manufacturing industry as well. Acid processing is a large market that touches both the chemicals and refining sectors. Knowing the potential, Via is looking to provide on-site processing of sulfuric acid, reducing costs and emissions while enabling recovery of acid-soluble oils (ASOs).

The post Start-up of the Week: Via Separations secures funding to deploy modular filtration appeared first on International Finance.

However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders suggests the overall industry outlook is cloudy because most sales reflected orders placed before the Iran war began. The industry body also expressed concerns over consumer confidence and vehicle affordability.

“The headlines belie the costs incurred and the challenges involved,” said SMMT Chief Mike Hawes, noting that March is typically the busiest month in a financial year and that strong demand from private buyers boosted new car registrations.

However, the latest data shows the new vehicle market maintaining its sales uptick, which started in December 2025. Still, the Middle East conflict, now in a two-week ceasefire phase, pushed oil prices beyond the USD 100-barrel mark, creating clouds of uncertainty for economies worldwide.

“We expect the good run of form in the car registrations data will grind to a halt ‌in the ⁠coming months, as the weight of surging energy costs and the prospect of (rate) hikes from the (BoE) MPC curbs affordability,” said Elliott Jordan-Doak, a senior economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, while interacting with Reuters.

According to the United Kingdom’s SMMT, volatile geopolitics and the surge in fuel costs may increase demand for electric vehicles while risking higher energy and supply chain costs.

“Battery electric vehicles recorded their best month in terms of volumes in March, though their overall market share remained at 22.6%, well below the government‑mandated target, opens new tab of 33% for 2026,” the industry body remarked, while stating that Tesla’s new registrations in the European country rose 20% from a year earlier to 8,599 units, trailing Chinese peer BYD’s nearly 134% jump to 15,162 units.

“With uncertainty around the cost of fuel, electric vehicle enquiries are on the up, as consumers look to electric as an attractive alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles,” said Jamie Hamilton, automotive partner and head of electric vehicles at ⁠Deloitte.

The post Despite strong March sales data, United Kingdom automobile market stares at uncertainty appeared first on International Finance.

As per ADREC, sales and purchases totalled AED50.97 billion through 8,940 transactions, reflecting a 228.6% increase in value and a 134% rise in volume compared to Q1 2025. Mortgage transactions also reached AED 15.03 billion through 4,578 transactions, representing a 53.4% increase in value and a 48.8% rise in volume year-on-year.

Hudayriyat Island was the leading area for real estate transactions, recording deals amounting to approximately AED 11.97 billion. It was followed by Reem Island, with AED 9.45 billion, and Saadiyat Island, with AED 8.8 billion, while Yas Island recorded activity exceeding AED 5.5 billion in transactions.

“This quarter’s performance is a clear reflection of the confidence Abu Dhabi continues to earn from investors both locally and internationally. Reaching a record level of activity is not only a sign of demand, but it also signals a market that is becoming more disciplined, with a clear focus on long-term investment,” said Rashed Al Omaira, Director General of ADREC.

“Our role as ADREC is to ensure this growth is supported through consistent oversight and a regulatory framework that upholds trust and accountability across the sector. This is what gives Abu Dhabi its strength. It is not about short-term momentum, but a market built on strong fundamentals, positioning it as a reliable investment destination,” the official added.

Despite regional volatilities, market indicators continue to show sustained demand across the UAE capital’s real estate sector, with leasing activity maintaining strong growth into March.

“The repeat lease price index recorded a 16% annual increase compared to March 2025, underscoring continued demand from end users and investors,” ADREC noted.

To address the strong demand outpacing supply, the market has been supported by a growing pipeline. Some 16 new real estate projects got registered during Q1 2026, a 60% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

“Residential supply in the Abu Dhabi region is projected to increase by 10,272 units in 2026, rising from 314,976 to 325,248, representing annual growth of 3.3%. Supply is projected to grow further in 2027, reaching 333,564 units. This reflects a market that continues to expand on solid foundations,” ADREC said.

Another salient point of ADREC’s report was the exceptional growth seen in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) domain, as total investments reached AED 8.27 billion, marking a 423% increase compared to the Q1 2025 and equivalent to the total figure recorded during 2025. Investors from 99 nationalities contributed to this performance, up from 68 nationalities last year.

“Foreign investment activity remained strong within investment zones, accounting for approximately 84% of total investment value, surpassing AED 36.4 billion out of a total AED 43.59 billion. This represents a 242% increase compared to the same period last year, with key contributing markets including the United Kingdom, India, the Russian Federation, China, Jordan, France, and Egypt,” ADREC concluded.

The post Abu Dhabi records USD 18 billion in Q1 property transactions appeared first on International Finance.

According to Qatar Central Bank’s data, the Sukuk’s maturity periods varied as follows: QR1.5 billion (an addition to an existing issuance) with a maturity date of January 16, 2029, and a yield of 4.5%, and QR1.5 billion (an addition to an existing issuance) with a maturity date of August 24, 2030, and a yield of 4.5%.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the bank clarified that total bids for the Sukuk reached approximately QR8 billion. The central financial institution also unveiled support measures for banks in response to Iranian attacks that severely weakened the Gulf’s third-largest economy.

The central bank will now offer unlimited local currency repurchase facilities against eligible securities held by local banks in order to ensure deep liquidity in the local market. This new facility offers maturities of up to three months, enabling Qatari banks to manage cash flow with greater certainty amid the ongoing volatility.

The industry’s senior executives, while interacting with The Banker, also said that Qatar Central Bank would reduce the reserve requirement on deposits from 4.5% to 3.5%, releasing further liquidity into the system. The central bank has been quizzing lenders about their liquidity in past weeks.

Qatar’s economy has been among the worst affected by the ongoing Middle East conflict. An attack from Iran on the Gulf country’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) production hub knocked out 17% of the nation’s energy export capacity, in addition to creating an estimated annual revenue loss worth USD 20 billion, which may span for the next three to five years.

However, Qatar Central Bank has been proactive in ensuring the banking and finance industry doesn’t feel the heat. It has already permitted banks to offer borrowers the option to defer loan principal and interest payments for a period of up to three months, in accordance with lenders’ existing internal policies and supervisory guidance.

Analysis from S&P Global Ratings projected Qatar and Bahrain as the most vulnerable in the Gulf region to external outflows of foreign and local funding. However, for Qatar, the government has a proven record of supporting both the Islamic banking and the wider finance sector.

“Liquidity continues to be strong, capital levels significantly exceed regulatory requirements, and provisioning provides strong coverage against credit risk. Banks continue to hold substantial liquidity in both domestic and foreign currency, and resources are sufficient to meet customer demand, support normal market activity, and meet any short-term funding pressures under stressed conditions,” QCB said while reacting to the S&P report.

The post QCB issues government Ijara Sukuk, maintains Qatar’s banking resilience appeared first on International Finance.

Saudi Arabia’s total bank credit jumped to SR3.30 trillion by year-end, fuelled by strong demand for corporate financing tied to infrastructure and development projects aligned with the Vision 2030 economic diversification agenda.

Deposits, meanwhile, recorded an annual increase of about 8.8% in February, the slowest pace in two months, while rising 2.3% compared to January.

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) data revealed that government growth in this area was around SR127.6 billion, or 14.8%, while deposits from individuals and companies increased by approximately SR114.3 billion, up 6.1%.

“Government deposits account for about 32.5% of total holdings compared with 65.6% for deposits from individuals and companies, reflecting the continued key role of the private sector in supporting banking liquidity,” the Saudi Central Bank remarked.

According to Al-Rajhi Bank, deposit levels and banking liquidity remained within safe thresholds, while capital reserves continued to exceed regulatory requirements by a comfortable margin. Another important metric, credit growth, outpaced deposit growth, with the Saudi banks actively financing a wide range of economic activities, including real estate development, trade, manufacturing, and utilities.

The report also highlighted SAMA’s continued pivotal role in safeguarding financial stability, alongside the “Financial Sector Development Programme,” which has strengthened the competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability of Saudi Arabia’s banking system.

Al-Rajhi Bank also confirmed that the Kingdom’s fintech sector is experiencing rapid advancement in 2025, marked by deepening collaboration between banks and fintech companies within a supportive regulatory framework.

“The number of fintech firms surpassed 280 by the end of the year, operating under the guidance and support of the Saudi Central Bank and the Capital Market Authority,” Saudi Gazette reported while quoting the report.

“Banks, in partnership with startups, have successfully developed innovative services across digital payments, integrated finance, buy-now-pay-later solutions, peer-to-peer lending, and API-based platforms—driving innovation that enhances financial inclusion and economic diversification,” Saudi Gazette concluded.

The post Saudi banks hold assets worth USD 1.33 trillion appeared first on International Finance.

The company, which operates as a compliance-first, local-first model with regulated coverage across Europe, Latin America, Nigeria, and the United States, provides fintech platforms (including payroll, cross-border payments, digital banking, and spend management solutions) with the ability to issue globally accepted payment cards, funded directly from stablecoins, bridging the gap between on-chain settlement and real-world payments.

With this latest round, Kulipa’s total funding reaches USD 9.2 million. The company wants to use the capital to create solutions that will make stablecoin spending seamless and widely accepted, just like traditional card payments, helping the fintech industry to operate as a fully integrated model, where industry players will act like on-chain-enabled financial institutions.

Kulipa’s successful fundraising also comes amid stablecoins becoming the new normal in the virtual payment space, settling more than USD 300 billion daily. However, the cryptocurrency still has a drawback: a lack of efficient infrastructure connecting on-chain settlement systems with regulated card networks.

“Existing solutions are often fragmented, capital-intensive, and dependent on prefunded structures and region-specific licenses. As regulatory clarity improves worldwide, fintech companies increasingly require compliant, scalable issuing infrastructure to convert stablecoin balances into usable financial products,” reported Africa Business.

To resolve this problem, Kulipa’s stablecoin-native issuing platform has been tailored to address challenges such as capital efficiency, regulatory compliance and global scalability. Fintech partners using the company’s solution are now launching payment programmes funded directly from stablecoin balances, supporting rapid prefunded deployments and deep wallet-native integrations.

“Stablecoins have proven their value as a settlement layer, but using them in everyday financial products is still early. Card issuance is the bridge between on-chain balances and real-world payments. We built Kulipa to give regulated fintech platforms the compliant, capital-efficient infrastructure they need to operate at a global scale,” said Axel Cateland, Founder and CEO of Kulipa, while interacting with Africa Business.

By verifying balances and settling transactions on-chain, Kulipa has reduced the fintech industry’s reliance on collateral-heavy prefunding models and enabled more sustainable scaling. Stablecoin cards issued via Kulipa can be used everywhere, including retail payments and ATM withdrawals. Kulipa also assumes the role of performing fraud liability, removing a massive operational burden for fintech partners.

The post Stablecoin card issuer Kulipa raises fresh funding appeared first on International Finance.

“Economy Prime expands TAP’s long‑haul offer, giving travellers greater choice between Economy and Business. It’s available on both the A330 and A321LR fleets. The new cabin responds to evolving travel trends by providing comfort, efficiency, and ample space, combined with a seamless customer journey,” said the airline.

“The Economy Prime cabin features 12 seats, located immediately behind Business Class, arranged in a four-seat-per-row configuration. With the side seat always left empty, this layout creates a quieter and more private environment, allowing passengers to enjoy a more relaxed and comfortable experience throughout the flight,” it added further.

Under “Economy Prime,” passengers will benefit from premium airport services designed to make the journey faster, including “Premium Check‑In,” priority baggage handling, “Fast Track Security Access,” and “Premium Boarding.” These elements, together, will contribute to a smoother travel experience from airport arrival to the final destination.

“On board, Economy Prime stands out for its personalised service and carefully selected details that elevate the travel experience. Passengers enjoy a premium main meal with two hot dish options, the possibility of pre‑selecting their meal up to 24 hours before departure, an amenity kit, and a premium pillow. Each element has been designed to provide greater comfort and a heightened sense of care. Economy Prime also offers added value for frequent travellers seeking flexibility and additional benefits. This includes earning more TAP Miles&Go miles, the ability to reschedule flights, and improved refund policies, making it an attractive option within the Economy class,” TAP Air Portugal noted.

With the launch of Economy Prime, TAP Air Portugal, the European country’s leading airline, joins a growing number of carriers upgrading the economy experience by combining comfort, well‑being and value.

TAP, also a member of Star Alliance, has its hub in Lisbon, which is located at the crossroads of Africa, North, Central, and South America. The carrier has become a popular choice for travellers, especially on the route between Europe and Brazil. TAP offers more than 1,000 weekly flights to 75 cities, which include six airports in Portugal, 10 in North America, 14 in Central and South America, 13 in Africa and 38 in Europe (including Portugal).

The Portuguese airline also operates one of the youngest fleets in the world, with all of Airbus’ next-generation NEO aircraft helping the business to maintain its operational efficiency, in addition to reducing emission levels per flight. The airline was ranked among the 20 safest in the world in 2026 (according to Airlines Ratings). TAP Air Portugal has been recognised and awarded as Europe’s Leading Airline to Africa, as well as Europe’s Leading Airline to South America by the World Travel Awards from 2014 to 2025.

The post Economy Prime launch: TAP Air Portugal redefines budget flying appeared first on International Finance.

The strategy, named CI Morningstar International Value Index ETF (VXM), uses a factor-based approach to invest in undervalued companies in developed markets outside the United States and Canada.

“The ETF has a strong track record, ranking number one out of all mutual funds and ETFs in the Morningstar International Equity Category based on total returns over the one, five and 10-year periods ending February 28, 2026. The ETF is offered in Canadian dollar Hedged Common Units and Unhedged Common Units,” CI GAM said.

The ETF is currently available in formats like a mutual fund (CI Morningstar International Value Hedged Index Fund, which invests in Hedged Common Units of the ETF and is available in mutual fund Series A, F, I and P units) and ETF series (Unhedged USD Common Units, which have started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange).

“Market developments over the past 15 months have underscored the importance of diversifying investor portfolios beyond the United States and Canada. CI Morningstar International Value Index ETF is a compelling choice for investors seeking robust international content for their portfolios due to its well-constructed, multi-factor approach and exceptional long-term outperformance. The ETF’s value orientation also makes it a solid complement to growth-oriented US portfolios,” said Jennifer Sinopoli, Executive Vice-President and Head of Distribution for CI GAM.

“By providing expanded access to this proven strategy, we’re giving Canadian investors more options to build resilient portfolios,” the official added.

“The VXM strategy focuses on undervalued international companies by providing diversification across regions and investment styles. A value-based international portfolio provides an excellent diversifier for growth-oriented North American large-caps. It further capitalises on current attractive valuations of select companies in international markets,” CI GAM noted.

The VXM strategy also uses a systematic factor-based approach that screens for traditional value metrics while avoiding value traps (firms with weakening fundamentals), apart from providing a portfolio well diversified by country, sector and market cap, as it includes small and medium-sized companies, along with large caps.

The post CI GAM expands customer access to international equity strategy appeared first on International Finance.

The agreement establishes Cover-More as the provider of travel insurance products to Aon’s Australian retail customers and to the firm’s workforce. Aon will now distribute Cover-More’s travel cover through its Australian retail channels and internal programmes.

Describing the deal as building on the company’s existing corporate and brand relationships, Mike Stein, executive general manager, sales and distribution at Cover-More, said, “Cover-More continues to work with some of Australia’s best-known brands, and we are recognised for our market-leading products, strong operational delivery, and exceptional customer care. We look forward to expanding this opportunity with Aon, a firm that has continued to demonstrate an award-winning capability to deliver meaningful outcomes for their clients.”

For Aon, the partnership will help the venture expand its travel risk and employee benefits offering in Australia.

As per Kevan Johnston, CEO of Australia for Aon, the goal is to support both external clients and employees with a consistent travel cover solution.

“We are thrilled to start a strategic relationship with Cover-More in Australia and to embark on a partnership with a company that shares our values and our commitment to protect the lives of people around the world, and a company that continues to deliver for their partners. The arrangement illustrates how intermediaries are working with travel specialists as travel patterns, risk perceptions, and digital service use change,” Johnston told the Insurance Business.

The Cover-More-Aon agreement also coincides with a time when travel activities in Australia have been buzzing, creating sustained demand for insurance as well. As per the Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s latest “Future of Travel Report,” based on a survey of 1,008 adults conducted in November 2025, 92% of Australians indulged in trips in 2025. About 45% of respondents took an international trip, up five percentage points on the prior year. Domestic travel also remained common, with 75% of people taking at least one intrastate trip and 58% travelled interstate, broadly in line with 2024 levels.

“Looking to the next 12 months, 86% of Australians intend to travel in 2026. Planned intrastate travel stands at 73%, interstate at 65%, and overseas at 51%. Survey responses suggest that while some travellers may reduce the number of domestic trips, overall intent to travel remains high, supporting ongoing volumes for airlines, tour operators, and travel insurers. Destination preferences continue to evolve. Japan is the most frequently nominated international destination, with 31% of respondents hoping to visit, followed by Europe (27%) and New Zealand (22%). Political and security issues are influencing choices: 42% of travellers say such factors have altered their plans, and 74% report being less likely to visit the US,” the report stated.

The post Cover-More, Aon enter travel insurance arrangement in Australia appeared first on International Finance.