Open Banking for SME Lenders: 4 Key Benefits Over Traditional Lending
In recent years, particularly after the pandemic, advanced digital technologies have significantly improved the lending industry, enabling banks and NBFCs to move beyond traditional lending methods. However, many lenders still struggle to accelerate credit decisions and provide a simpler and seamless borrower experience. Historically, traditional lenders relied on outdated systems that were slow and inefficient, limiting lending options to SMEs
Today, lenders must meet growing SME demands for quick and accurate credit assessments without requiring or having very limited physical intervention This is where “Open Banking” – a new-age banking methodology, along with innovative technologies like AI and automation can be disruptive in the financial services sector.
Open banking allows borrowers to share their up-to-date financial information through highly secure and trusted third-party Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Open banking APIs give lenders faster and more comprehensive insights into the borrower’s financial health, accelerating the underwriting process.
Open banking creates new opportunities for profitable SME lending. Open banking benefits borrowers by empowering them to control their financial data. On the other hand, it enables lenders to deliver personalized, cost-effective and data-driven services.
In this blog, let us explore more about open banking and discover how lenders can partner with fintechs to take advantage of such platforms.
What is Open Banking?
Open banking is a practice where borrowers authorize third-party companies to access their financial data. These companies then use that data to help lenders offer them faster lending products that meet borrower’s specific needs. Open banking in India is getting a push driven by the Account Aggregator (AA) framework, introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
India’s open banking market is set to grow at a 31.5% CAGR , driven by UPI, fintech innovation and increased financial access.
New-age fintechs, through their aggressive digital adoption, lead the way when it comes to solving borrower problems. However, traditional lenders lag in terms of speed, efficiency and cost. To stay competitive, traditional lenders must either improve their Quality of Service (QoS) considerably or collaborate with fintech partners to capitalize on open banking opportunities.
Open Banking and Credit Scoring
Traditional credit scoring methods primarily considered a borrower’s historical financial income to determine loan eligibility. This often led to incomplete or delayed lending decisions. The lending landscape is different today and this limited view can result in lenders missing out on opportunities to serve SMEs with low credit scores or limited credit histories among others
Open banking credit scoring offers lenders real-time access to comprehensive and up-to-date financial data. This allows lenders to make better and faster credit decisions while eliminating the dependency on manual, time-consuming processes. As a result, lenders can now improve their customer service, reduce lending risks and make more inclusive lending decisions.
Open Banking for SME Borrowers
In the past, large banks controlled customers’ private financial data, such as account and loan information. Open banking has democratized access to this data, offering new credit options for SMEs. SME borrowers today demand lenders who understand their business holistically, beyond just basic financial information.
Open banking allows lenders to provide customized loans with quicker approvals, better rates and more favourable terms. This level of customization through open banking benefits SMEs by offering credit checks, convenience, speed, cost savings and minimal paperwork.
Open Banking Benefits for SME Lenders
Open banking allows lenders to scale asset generation, reduce operational costs and deliver a superior borrower experience. Here are some key benefits of open banking:
- Simplified digital customer onboarding
Through a digital-first approach, SME borrowers can now be easily and quickly register, without complicated paperwork like providing detailed account information or going through a rigorous KYC verification process. By directly accessing customer data from their banks, the onboarding process is made significantly faster and simpler. It also eliminates the need for manual application processing and reduces errors, increasing the conversion rate.
- Faster, enriched underwriting
With real-time access to up-to-date financial data, open banking enables lenders to make quicker and accurate credit underwriting decisions. Lenders receive a comprehensive view of borrower data points such as income, investments and spending patterns. This allows AI-driven automated underwriting, reducing the risk of bias and human error. Instant verification without manual processes helps lenders cut costs and risks, ultimately delivering better loan rates to borrowers.
- Personalized, flexible loan products
By accessing comprehensive financial data, lenders can offer customized loan products. For example, lenders can provide automated top-up loans or create products with flexible terms, ensuring SMEs receive funding when they need it most.
- More inclusive lending with broader reach
Open banking eliminates time-consuming manual processes, enabling lenders to make credit decisions more quickly, accurately and with better information. This deeper understanding of a borrower’s finances helps mitigate risks and provides lenders with better data, promoting financial inclusion across underserved markets.
Leverage Open Banking and API capabilities with CredAcc’s no-code LOS
For SME lenders to differentiate themselves and leverage the full potential of open banking and APIs, a digital technology partner like CredAcc is critical. CredAcc’s highly customizable, API-based, no-code Loan Origination System (LOS) easily integrates with leading third-party open banking modules. Its automated features – KYC verification, bank statement and credit bureau data access, identity verification, authentication and automated tax form retrieval and processing – help lenders cut operational costs and accelerate processing times.
CredAcc’s fully automated platform with verification and operation modules, facilitates enriched applications and faster decision-making. This empowers lenders to perform in-depth data analysis and create custom templates and workflows for more effective and efficient underwriting.
Book a live demo of CredAcc LOS to witness the full potential of open banking and APIs.