Finovate Blog

A collaboration between alternative credit scoring specialist CredoLab and personal finance comparison site GoBear will make it easier for the underbanked to get access to credit. A new smartphone app, Easy Apply, will leverage CredoLab’s credit assessment technology to serve underbanked markets of Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Easy Apply leverages CredoLab’s predictive credit scorecard solution to the help thin-file applicants access unsecured credit products including credit cards and personal loans. The AI-powered technology extracts and analyzes data from the user’s smartphone to make highly-predictive behavioral insights. These insights are used to build customized credit risk scorecards that are tailor-made for individual lenders and specific products. This enables lenders to benefit from access to creditworthy borrowers who might otherwise be overlooked by traditional credit risk assessment strategies.

“We are excited to be partnering with GoBear to help banks profitably serve their customers including the underbanked,” CredoLab co-founder and CEO Peter Barcak said. “Since our launch in 2016, through our use of non-traditional alternative data points, we have seen a significant drop in cost of risk, helped reduce the time-to-yes to a few seconds, and achieved almost 45% increase in approval rates,” Barcak added. “I am optimistic that we can achieve similar results through this partnership.”

Easy Apply will be integrated as a downloadable app within GoBear’s Easy Choices feature, which gives customers the ability to select products that fit their financial profile. Credit card offerings will be the first products available with personal loans, insurance, and lines of credit to follow.

“There is a massive opportunity here in Southeast Asia to continue improving financial inclusion by constantly innovating solutions,” GoBear CEO Adrian Chng, said. “Our partnership with CredoLab will bridge the divide between the underbanked and financial institutions by giving both parties access to the right technology at the right moment to create better outcomes.”

Founded in 2016, Singapore-based CredoLab made its Finovate debut earlier this month in Hong Kong as part of FinovateAsia. The company, which was named among Singapore Business Review’s Top 20 Start-Ups at the beginning of the year, has served more than 40 lenders in 12 markets across southeast Asia, China, Africa, and Latin America. With $2.1 million in funding, CredoLab includes Walden International, Reliance Modal Ventura, and Fintonia Group among its investors.