How Lendtech Makes Banking Relatable for Consumers Through Speed

The Lendtech firms are using available data to build a 360-degree view of each individual customer. They engage you in real-time, all the time. According to media reports, in 2018, Paylater provided over 300,000 loans to Nigerians. The firm has over 90,000 active monthly users.

The amount of information banking consumers can access is unbelievable. But the amount of data each human produces is even more startling. That is why, according to research, in the last two years alone, 90% of the data in the world was generated.

This data is created through searches, social media interactions, communication such as email, texts, etc. In 2020, research shows that every person on earth created 1.7 megabytes of data. Every second. That is incredible.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: ‘Leaders Should Remain Futuristic in Policies Planning’ – Kunbi Wuraola

Banking consumers and others can access information within seconds on an increasing array of devices. These devices include tablets, smartphones, desktops, and laptops. Because of this, consumer trends are being influenced by people’s ever-growing relationship with smartphones. And the internet. Thus, the impact these devices and data have on their lives is enormous.

Yes, the consumers are aware of this data overload. And the pace of change that has occurred. In response, consumers need ways to sort and consume the inputs (and outputs) that are most likely to impact their daily lives. Lendtech such as Renmoney, Branch, Pay later, Kwikcash, Kiakia, and other micro-lending platforms have a full understanding of this. And they have used it to the hilt.

These firms have democratized lending to the extent that an applicant does not need to visit their physical offices before getting a loan. There is no paperwork. There is no collateral. There is no guesswork. Loans are approved in seconds, on the mobile phone, in traffic, in the office, at home, at parties, anywhere.

This is so because they understand the need for speed. Banking consumers have an insatiable need for speed. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning have made it possible to process data and deliver solutions in real-time. On the go. The consumers know these technologies. They understand the capability of the machine. So, they crave an experience. This is what the micro-lenders provide.

Lendtech firms relate with the applicants. The banks do not relate with the customers. Lendtech firms are akin to flower gardens. The banks are akin to gardens filled with plastic flowers: They are artificial. Your bank account officer may not interact with you, as long as your account does not pose a threat to the wellbeing of the institution.

But the person on your case in a Lendtech firm engages you regularly. The Lendtech firms are always in your face. Not intrusive, engaging; not shouting but offering you a soft loan without collateral in minutes!

The Lendtech firms are using available data to build a 360-degree view of each individual customer. They engage you in real-time, all the time. According to media reports, in 2018, Paylater provided over 300,000 loans to Nigerians. The firm has over 90,000 active monthly users.

A friend in the business said that the “absence of a lending infrastructure” is what fuels the plethora of micro-lending platforms. These platforms have customized their services to suit the users and their behaviours.

On the flip side, Lendtech has exposed the bigger problem of under-banking in Nigeria. The banks will not provide loans to small-time start-ups and the plethora of one-man-riot-squad-businesses. Maybe they will after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has compelled them to do so. Even if the banks do, they do not have the skills to make banking relatable. Because they are eyeing the bottom line.

With the micro-lending platforms, interaction is easy and free, unrestricted and constant. This is not so with the banks. The camel would have gone through the eye of the needle before you got a microloan in a bank.

The banks do not have an attractive perception of providing credit. The process is exhausting. The loan is unattractive. But you would get a loan within a twinkle of an eye from a Lendtech without stress.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: Amber Drinks Support Youth Summit, Assures Quality Energy Boost  

According to Jim Marous, co-publisher of The Financial Brand and publisher of the Digital Banking Report, a subscription-based publication that provides deep insights into the digitization of banking, the Lendtech firms really understand that the key to “humanizing the customer experience” is authenticity.

And using data and advanced analytics to create a customer-focused engagement platform in which all interactions are personalized. The banks need that information. Don’t they? What do you think?