1Cover expands Adyen payments deal, saves AUD $35,000

1Cover has expanded its payments partnership with Adyen across Australia and New Zealand, a move that has already delivered about AUD $35,000 in savings for the travel insurer.

The insurer has consolidated payments with a single provider after operating a legacy setup spread across multiple providers in different markets. The previous arrangement added administrative cost and operational complexity as the business grew.

Founded in Sydney in 2003, 1Cover was an early online travel insurance provider in Australia and now serves customers in both Australia and New Zealand. Its updated payments infrastructure includes local payment methods in both countries, automated reconciliation, and fraud tools designed to reduce failed transactions and manual work.

Over its first nine months on the platform, 1Cover recorded about AUD $35,000 in savings, with local card routing a main driver. If the same trends continue, annual savings could reach up to AUD $50,000.

The deal highlights a broader issue in insurance, where older systems still shape back-office operations and payment flows. Adyen's Australia Insurance Report 2026 found that 51% of insurers still rely on manual processes and older infrastructure, while 93% said fraud costs their business up to 5% of annual revenue.

For insurers selling directly to consumers online, payment performance can affect both conversion rates and customer retention. In travel insurance, where transactions are often made quickly around the time of booking, delays or payment friction can have an immediate commercial effect.

Single platform

By moving to one platform across both markets, 1Cover has introduced consolidated reporting and automated money movement. According to the companies, this reduces the manual intervention required from finance and operations teams.

The partnership is part of a wider effort by insurers to simplify technology estates built up over time through regional requirements and product expansion. Payment systems are often among the most fragmented parts of that stack, particularly when local acquiring, fraud screening, and reconciliation tools have been sourced separately.

Hayley Fisher, Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand at Adyen, said payments are becoming more central to how insurers manage customer interactions and internal costs.

"Payments play a critical role in how customers experience insurance, particularly at moments where trust, speed and reliability matter," Fisher said.

"At a time when insurers are under pressure to do more with less, consolidating payments onto a single platform can help reduce complexity, lower costs and support sustainable, long-term growth," she said.

Operational impact

1Cover said the changes have affected both customer-facing transactions and internal processes, delivering a faster, simpler transaction experience for customers alongside lower costs for the business.

"Working with Adyen has allowed us to remove key friction points from our payments experience, making it faster and easier for customers to transact with us," said Natalie Ball, Managing Director of 1Cover.

"At the same time, we've reduced costs without compromising performance, which is a clear win for the business as we continue to grow our footprint across Australia and New Zealand," Ball said.

Beyond the direct savings, 1Cover said it has reduced the manual work tied to payment administration and reporting. Those changes can be significant for insurers handling high volumes of lower-value online transactions, where back-office inefficiencies can steadily add to operating costs.

Adyen, which provides payment technology to large international companies, has been expanding in sectors where fragmented systems remain common. Insurance is one of those areas, as providers weigh the cost of updating core systems against the risk of maintaining a patchwork of suppliers and processes.

For 1Cover, the immediate result is a smaller payment supplier base and lower transaction-related costs across Australia and New Zealand. The insurer expects total annual savings of up to AUD $50,000 as the benefits of local routing and automation continue to build.