INDUSTRY VIEW
DIGITAL LENDING CAN ACCELERATE THE GROWTH OF STARTUP CHANNEL PARTNERS
SARA HOTEIT , REGIONAL MANAGER MIDDLE EAST , BACKBASE
Digital lending presents an opportunity to reduce financial risk by introducing data-driven decision making , and with the right analytics , loan assessment can be greatly enhanced , allowing a 360-degree view of the customer , explains Sara Hoteit at Backbase . an option . Nor are long , drawn-out application processes or extended approval cycles . Data from Backbase shows digital lending can speed up loan processing by as much as 90 %, and application times by 30 %. The entire lifecycle , from application to decision and beyond , is transparent , with customers receiving real-time updates at their whim , through an application .
This makes digital lending a significant boost for customer satisfaction , and net promoter score , while reducing the burden on call centre teams . Digital lending also opens the door to embedded credit , a segment that is expected to grow to US $ 15 billion by 2025 .
Digital lending also presents an opportunity to reduce risk by introducing data-driven decision making , with the region ’ s nonperforming loan to gross loan ratios are as high as 7.5 %. With the
Young entrepreneurs , who begin their startup business as technology channel partners , are invariably digital natives who expect personalised solutions . Having done their research , they will likely know that businesses of their size are notoriously underbanked , so an institution that is willing to step up and help them secure their cashflow will quickly earn their favour and , over the long term , their trust and loyalty .
Surviving and thriving in this growing SME space calls for investment in digital solutions . Digital lending will be critical because SME customers are themselves mobile-first , meaning branch visits are not
Data from Backbase shows digital lending can speed up loan processing by as much as 90 %, and application times by 30 %.
right analytics , loan assessment can be greatly enhanced , which is a boon in the higher-risk SME segment . Digital-lending platforms allow a 360-degree view of the customer .
Data drives better decisions by providing financial histories and preferences that guide engagement . In the right circumstances , decisions can be automated so that stronger candidates experience faster processing times . And when human intervention becomes necessary , trusty AI-powered virtual assistants are on hand to help with analysis .
Digital lending platforms put banks in a position to become trusted advisors and true partners of SMEs . Personalised dashboards for financial health are indispensable to business founders in today ’ s digital economy . Instead of having to put time aside every day for managing finances , business leaders are able to see , on a single dashboard , everything to do with their business .
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