EXPERT FORECAST : BANKING AND FINANCE
Sara Hoteit , Regional Manager for the Middle East at Backbase
2020s inevitably weaves its way towards automation . This is an extraordinary cost-cutting measure . It reduces the need for expensive branches . It takes thousands of labour hours of paperwork processing off the plates of beleaguered human employees . And contact centres can optimise their resource utilisation and direct agents to use their time to be more proactive with customer communication .
The metrics system
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 app . This makes digital lending a significant boost for customer satisfaction ( CSAT ) and net promoter score ( NPS ) metrics , 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 . The region ’ s non-performing loan to gross loan ratios are as high as 7.5 %. With the 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 . So again , data drives better decisions by providing
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