One startup aggressively using advanced machine learning to comb through vast sources of alternative data to predict an individual’s creditworthiness is Lenddo. The company started in 2011 and focuses on emerging markets where rising middle classes often lack traditional credit histories or even bank accounts. They claim 5 million people receiving loans via their partners because their system was able to evaluate their creditworthiness.
Overseas lenders can develop credit scores based on mobile and web data
FICO uses LenddoEFL’s credit scoring model overseas, which includes email, mobile and web data to assess of thin-credit file consumers in overseas markets. This is the technology behind FICO’s recently launched X Data Score in India, which generates a score based on a consumer’s mobile and digital footprint, including email data. FICO also has a traditional score in India as well.
The Problem: Financial Exclusion
Financial inclusion is a defining challenge for this generation. Many governments and supranational agencies are investing to solve this problem. Even fintech companies are trying to help, but what is the real problem and how could it be solved?
The World Bank states “Around two billion people don’t use formal financial services and more than 50 percent of adults in the poorest households are unbanked. Financial inclusion is a key enabler to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity.”
You might ask, why isn’t this population going to financial institutions to improve their living conditions, and why haven’t financial institutions served them? From a business perspective the opportunity at a global scale is massive.
" Lenddo & EFL both are global pioneers in using non-traditional data, be it social, mobile or psychometric evaluation. Their coming together opens up new frontiers of collaboration with financial institutions that will help financial institutions to reach out to a billion Indians for their lending needs across customer segments."
- Tina Singh - Chief Digital Officer, Mahindra Finance.
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The merger between EFL and Lenddo is tremendously exciting. Both firms offer technologies that can push the frontiers of financial inclusion, and help reach the unbanked around the world. The combination of their technologies and implementation capacity promises an impact greater than the sum of its parts – and we look forward to seeing the results of this partnership on increasing access to finance in the years ahead.
- Salman Alibhai, Operations Officer, World Bank
"I am very happy for the alliance between EFL and Lenddo. This will ensure that psychometric, mobile and social data driven products continue growing and improving. This challenge is important because it allows us to create information from nothing and use it to predict human behavior. Not for nothing did the famous physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson say: "In science, when human behavior enters the equation, things go nonlinear. That's why Physics is easy and Sociology (and I would add risk management) is hard."
Microbank is confident that the full power of the new tools developed by EFL and Lenddo will make inclusive credit a scalable and therefore sustainable segment."
- Roman Weissmann Bermann, Risk Director, CaixaBank (MicroBank)
"Me alegro mucho por la alianza entre EFL y Lenddo, que seguramente permitirá seguir creciendo y potenciando productos basados en datos psicometricos y aquellos provenientes de la interaccion del usuario en redes sociales y moviles. El reto es importante ya que se trata de crear informacion de la nada y usarla para predecir comportamientos humanos. No por nada el famoso fisico Neil deGrasse Tyson afirmaba que "en las ciencias, cuando el comportamiento humano entra en la ecuacion, las cosas se transforman en no lineales. Por eso la fisica es facil y la sociologia ( yo añadiria, y la gestion de riesgos) dificil."
Microbank confia en que toda la potencia de las nuevas herramientas desarrolladas permitan hacer de la inclusion crediticia un segmento escalable y por tanto sostenible."
- Roman Weissmann Bermann, Risk Director, CaixaBank (MicroBank)
Thanks to our partners at Mynt for sharing their feedback on the merger.
"In a country where native bureaus only have data on less than 5% of the population, the alternative credit scoring methods and technologies Lenddo and EFL have designed and created have enabled us to work towards financial inclusion in the Philippines, from consumers to MSMEs. With the work we've done with Lenddo for our consumers products and with EFL to assess businesses, we can testify that these two companies have many synergies and complementary competencies. With the combination of their knowledge and models, and the combination of social, telco, and psychometric data, we have no doubt that the company resulting from this merger will set new standards in the industry."
-- Anthony Thomas, CEO, Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations)
"With 70% of Filipinos remaining unbanked and with less than 5% in credit card penetration, credit data about the majority is virtually non-existent. This creates a cycle where most Filipinos remain financially underserved. However, with the emergence of technology for alternative credit scoring methods, we are enabled to work towards financial inclusion in the Philippines. With the work we've done with Lenddo to credit score consumers and with EFL to evaluate businesses, it comes as no surprise that a merger between these two innovators is happening. With the experiences and learnings both have acquired separately, we are excited to see the birth of even better and richer data with the marriage of these companies."
-- Jean-Francois Darré, Chief Analytics and Risk Officer, Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations)
The fresh approach toward credit risk assessment developed by the technologies EFL and Lenddo have pioneered has been helping us, as a lender, to extend our lending offering to users that are typically left out the formal credit circle and thus creating enduring value for them and us. Learning that these two great organizations are merging seems like match made in credit risk heaven that will push for greater financial inclusion around the globe.
- Jorge Enriquez, Co-founder and CEO, Credilikeme