iute Group, a digital banking group operating in Southeast Europe, has established a new insurance services and operational management subsidiary Iute Affinity, to reinforce protection as a core pillar within its everyday digital banking ecosystem. Alma Ribanovic has been appointed as the CEO of iute Affinity.
Allar Niinepuu, Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder of Iute Group, said that with iute Affinity, insurance will now be integrated directly into Iute’s services, making it easier and smoother for customers to use. “iute Affinity was created to deliver fully digital, tailor‑made insurance solutions through our Myiute superapp to our and our partners’ customers through direct partnerships with leading global insurers and service providers such as Allianz Partners, UNIQA and MediGuide,” he said.
Niinepuu explained that although Iute has been acting as an insurance intermediator for the last few years, bringing affinity insurance competences to the Group supports the company’s ambitious plans towards becoming a digital bank even more.
iute Affinity, as an insurance solutions and operational infrastructure subsidiary, does not act as an insurer. Instead, it helps to embed insurance directly into Iute’s services, so customers can get seamlessly integrated end to end insurance covering life, health, assets and lifestyle. With iute Affinity, customers no longer need to interact with external providers, as claims and support are managed within the Iute ecosystem, resulting in faster claim resolution, clearer communication and a consistent brand trust.
iute Affinity will be led by Alma Ribanovic, who brings more than 20 years of experience in banking, insurance, and strategic partnership development, with a strong focus on affinity, bancassurance and embedded insurance solutions.
“People don’t see insurance as a standalone product. Instead, they think in terms of everyday moments – paying, travelling or making purchases – and simply want everything to work smoothly, without stress,” said Ribanovic. “iute Affinity helps make protection a natural part of those moments, built into the digital journey rather than added on later,” she added.
iute Affinity will operate as an integrated part of iute Group, working closely with its commercial, technology, risk and compliance teams. This ensures that insurance solutions follow the same standards of transparency, discipline and customer focus as Iute’s core digital financial services.
In its first phase, Iute Affinity will support iute Group’s existing markets, working with international insurance and service providers. To accelerate innovation, Iute Affinity will partner with insurtechs that bring specialised capabilities such as digital underwriting, claims automation, fraud detection, and data analytics.
According to Ribanovic, the long-term vision for iute Affinity is to become a leading insurance solutions platform that supports not only Iute but other digital ecosystems as well. “Beyond traditional insurance players, we are open to working with a wide range of strategic partners wherever B2B2C models make sense. This includes platforms, service providers, manufacturers, marketplaces, and other ecosystem players that want to embed insurance or protection into their own customer journeys,” she explained.
Ribanovic also noted that iute Affinity plans to continue expanding its product portfolio. “The flagship launch will be a subscription-based travel insurance solution with added health services,” the CEO of Iute Affinity said. She added that in parallel, Iute Affinity will develop a new payment protection insurance offering for iute in Moldova and Bulgaria.
iute Group is a digital banking group focused on everyday financial services in Southeast Europe. Established in 2008 and headquartered in Estonia, Iute serves customers in Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine. Through the Myiute app and its local operations, Iute provides digital financial services including payments, banking, financing and insurance intermediation. Iute Group finances its operations through equity, deposits and secured bonds listed on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Baltic Main List.
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