How a Leading

Bank in Vietnam
Increased its Process
Case Study
Efficiency by 65%

Overview

South East Asia’s earliest-established Joint-stock Commercial bank, founded a Consumer Finance Division
and successfully transferred all consumer finance operations to this independent company in February
2015. Realizing its potential and eager to innovate their current lending processes, the lending institution
wanted to work towards providing a seamless lending experience to its customers by augmenting operations.

The lending institution launched one of the first robotic lending mobile applications in South East
Asia, to create an engaging user experience that prevented drop-offs, improved productivity, and simplified
journeys. This robotic lending application allowed customers to get an instant loan approval in 15 minutes.
Today, the lending institution accounts for almost 50 per cent of the bank’s revenue as a result of their digital
transformation.

Business Opportunities
The lending institution was driven primarily by its feet-on-street model. With the bulk of its operations
manned by field officers, the lending institution was incurring higher operational costs, impacting their
bottom line of business. Customer drop-offs were common owing to a tedious application process. The
areas that posed as an opportunity for change can be classified as follows:

www.getlend.in
www.kuliza.com
 ModuleCase
Document
Study
1. Building customer profile: The existing KYC processes involved in-person attestation on personal details
and extensive documentation. The lending institution saw an opportunity to reduce their eKYC process for
their customers that brought the TAT to a matter of a few minutes.

2. Unintuitive user experience: Customer drop-offs were a result of the overwhelming loan journeys. The
lending institution realized the advantage of having an application stage that was not replete with intricate
processes.

3. Customer Acquisition: Despite a robust fleet of agents, driving sales and building a customer base through
offline channels was proving to be difficult for the lending institution. An end-to-end solution that provided
a real-time loan process was a goal the lending institution wanted to work towards.

4. Constraints in Underwriter Stage: Manual verification of each application was highly inefficient especially
when over hundreds of applications were being received on a daily basis. The lending institution wanted
to move away from the “needle in the haystack” approach and focus on a system that processed applications
in a timely manner.

The Approach

1. Straight-through-Processing

The problem with the existing process was the movement of data across discrete blocks. From the
application process to the underwriter stage - there was a lot of information that needed to be analyzed
and a decision was to be made on the same. This created internal hold-ups and stretched the TAT that just
wasn’t feasible for today’s customers.

Instead, a straight-through-process that captured all the elements starting from application to loan disbursal,
would ease operational load significantly. To enable such a seamless STP, the lending institution orchestrated
a journey that worked in tandem with several pre-built configurations.

www.getlend.in
 Case Study
A seamless STP was achieved by using a cocktail of Lend.In’s digital origination product modules that
>> Provided a platform for Product Configuration
How can CDE transform Digital Lending?
>> Incorporated API Integrations into the journey
Below is a list of capabilities a next generation decisioning engine which could be leveraged to understand
>> Launched a powerful Credit Decision Engine
more about a robust CDE.
>> Enhanced the digital experience within a customer journey
>> Created a Collections Dashboard for the Back-Office
>> Speed of Processing : Rules and credit policies that are embedded within the engine are quickly run
>> Created a Customer Service Dashboard
across a borrower’s profile, enabling multiple hits to the service at benchmarked efficiency.
>> Capability to integrate with multiple sources of data : An agnostic platform which can integrate LOS
2. Creating the Journey
data as well as data from any external source to verify copious amounts of information provided by
The lending institution tackled the problems at hand by approaching each block within the loan journey
the borrower.
keeping two fundamental aspects in mind:
>> I.Robotic Decisioning : Automated and mechanized decisioning system without bias or subjectivity that
To reduce the TAT
empowers a transparent and reliable credit decisioning.
II. To enhance customer’s experience

>> Each
Funnel Omni Channel Data : Draws on data from multiple channels for inclusion in the decision process
milestone in the journey was designed around these two aspects and the following modules were
>> Quick To Deploy : Credit models that can be built, tested and deployed in an agile manner that powers
created:
a quick deployment, without the need to write any code and hence eliminating the need for IT support
Customer Database (CIF Database):
>> Customizable Dashboards : Contains a built-in user customizable dashboard wizard with real time
The lending institution’s initial blacklist checks were all manually conducted. To optimize the time utilized,
update on performance activities in the platform
a customer database was created that had a repository of all the details of the customer. With the help of
>> Multi-models : Accommodates multiple credit models in a single platform
this database, a quick check of a customer’s name could result in the customer’s loan history and if the
Rule Builder : Inbuilt rule builder to configure policy expressions
>> customer was an existing user or not.
>> Advanced Rule Simulation : Ability to simulate new rules within the live environment to test different
models in a continuous effort to optimize the process.
Automated Credit Assessment
Microservices Architecture : Allows the entire credit policy to be exposed as an API to any internal or
>> Lend.In’s Credit Decisioning Engine was used for configuring credit models as well as integrating with
external engine
credit-agencies. Furthermore, the rule engine provided the flexibility to define, change, and tweak rules,
thus helping decision makers make crucial credit decisions on time.To ensure faster credit underwriting,
What sets CDE apart?
redit assessment was performed in real-time using scores obtained from integration with credit bureaus
Design Features
as well as assessing Income tax statements of applicants.
In Kuliza’s lending platform, the Credit Decisioning Engine is a flexible system that enables banks and lending
enterprises to configure business rules & change them based on the market environment. Here are some of
Robust Robotic Underwriting
the rules that can be defined in rules engine:
Lending institution created a robust underwriting channel within the system that was compiled to check
>> Validation rules : Data verification and consistency checks
major aspects of an application with a few set parameters established within the system. This was
>> Calculation rules : Compute values based on input data
achieved by installing a decision API that had a set of parameters in place. These parameters
>> Decision rules : Selection of business process path
covered the requirements an underwriter is prone to look for in an application.
>> Generation rules : Creation of new data objects

www.getlend.in
 ModuleCase
Document
Study
The system checks whether the customer is an existing one, any existing loans taken by the customer,
details on any outstanding loans and loans that have been defaulted, if any. Each case would be digitally
assessed by the system. The application would be directly sent through for processing and disbursal if all
the appropriate cases were true. If any one case was deemed inappropriate, the application would be
flagged to the underwriter who would then review the case and take a call on the final application status.

3. Smarter Processes with Smart Integrations

Part of creating a smart, digitized journey required integrations with data-rich archives and tools that could
screen the information required. To achieve this, Lend.In’s API Integration broker was used to act as an
interface internal, external systems, multiple third-party services and backend tools to create seamless
interactions.

KYC APIs
The robotic lending application leveraged native app features which enabled it to become one of the
highest rated apps on Playstore in South East Asia. Some of these features included:

Multilingual Keyboard (English and regional language)

One Touch Login (Finger Print Based)
Camera Access for Document / Image CaptureDigital Signature of documents

The lending institution created a cohesive digital experience and captured information from third party
applications and verified through several government databases to ensure customer’s credibility. Some of
the channels that were integrated with the app are:

National ID: Government body that has a repository of every citizen’s National ID, their salary as well as their
tax information. Data procured from this database could successfully gauge the credibility of a customer.

Vehicle Registration Details: The Motor Registration Certificate provided information on a customer’s vehicle
insurance, the make and model of the vehicle they possessed, etc. The lending institution managed to draw
information about a customer’s asset worth, buying capability and ascertain a level of risk that a customer
can pose with the help of algorithms that drew correlations with the information obtained from the MRC.

Electricity Bill Details: Leaving no stone unturned, the lending institution used electricity bills as a medium
to gauge a customer’s credibility if other forms of information wasn’t present or suffice. The customer would
upload a picture of their recent electricity bills and the lending institution would verify the information from
the EVN database. A few parameters would be given by the customer such as the EVN code, the amount
of the bill and the date of the bill. The system would capture these details and compare them with the
pre-existing information in the EVN database to ensure they match.

X-Sell: X-Sell was specifically designed for the lending institution by Lend.In. In an effort to capture as many
leads from their own repository, the lending institution required a system that could reach potential borrowers.
X-Sell displays a pre-approved loan offer to existing customers present in the bank’s database. These
customers have already been screened through several parameters and checks before a loan offer is
generated for them.
Since most leads were driven from online traffic, X-Sell was designed to pick out customers that came from
other forums as well. This was achieved with two partner integrations:

>> App-Based Personal Line of Credit

Available as an online website as well as an app, the company helps borrowers find prospective
banks and NBFCs that will offer them loans, given they meet all the eligibility requirements. X-Sell
works seamlessly with the company by evaluating a customer’s information obtained from the
company and deeming a customer eligible for a loan or rejecting them.

www.getlend.in
 Case Study

>> Taxi Aggregator

Being one of Asia’s largest taxi services, the drivers are offered a pre-approved loan from the
lending institution through X-Sell. Each driver is given a “Score”. This score, along with the
driver’s salary information is provided by taxi company. X-Sell takes this information and displays
a loan offer if the driver meets the requirements.

OCR Tool: To ensure a seamless, completely digitized loan experience, the lending institution incorporated
various tools within the journey to ease the process and eliminate the need for in-person procedures. OCR
tools that were used in various stages of recognition and verification were built by a third party vendor called
Hyperverge.

Customer Surrogate: There is a government-owned body that has information on a citizen’s taxes and their
loan history. The lending institution captures the details about loans that have been taken from other banks
from this body. Assuming that other banks have done their due diligence with their background checks on
their customers, the lending institution can deem them to be eligible to procure a loan from their establishment.

4. Revamping Customer Onboarding through Smart KYC

To tackle drop offs, the lending institution implemented a multi-tier approach that classified the journey into
several layers and sublayers to ease navigation through the app. The following are the modifications that
were launched.

OCR for ID verification

The lending institution’s field agents had to manually collect personal documents of customers and verify
them at their branch offices. With OCR for ID verification, data capture and population was done under a
matter of minutes. This ensured fool-proof data entry with little room for errors.

Facial Recognition
To verify applicant details, the system allowed users to submit their selfie photographs, which were verified
with existing details in real time. This helped customers prevent in-person branch visits while submitting
required documents and attest their information at their convenience.

Personalised Journey
Through fingerprint-based one-touch login, customers could access their application details and status
without the need to input details or remember passwords. In addition, multilingual dialogue options were
available to cater to a diverse linguistic audience.

www.getlend.in
 Case Study
5. Ease of Operations for Field-Agents Automated Decision Making

To ensure operational efficiency, it was necessary to rethink and empower the field-agent network and
simplify processes for quicker outputs. The lending institution adopted an STP approach that ensured fluidity
across processes and enabled field agents to make quicker decisions.

eSign of Loan Agreement:

Through eSign, customers could share their approval through digital signatures, which eliminated the need
for in-person attestation.

6. Customer Service Dashboard

A customer service dashboard was created that would automatically segregate the information obtained
from the customers (existing or prospective) into buckets which could be accessed by anyone with valid
credentials. An underwriter can view information ranging from customer’s registration details and application
form fields, to the identity and income verification and the necessary documents that are uploaded by the
borrower. Customer service requests are recorded in this dashboard and assigned automatically to the
responsible bodies that can take action on the requests. Once the request has been addressed, it gets
cleared from the existing queue.

7. Collections Dashboard

It was imperative to construct a collections dashboard that had relevant information about the customer,
the repayment schedule, payment details, disbursal details, etc that can help a loan officer quickly gauge
the repayment activities of a borrower and raise a red flag for any suspicious or inconsistent behaviour.
A preferred time tag section tells the communications team when a customer is willing to be contacted.
The allocation history tag automatically allocates cases where customers haven’t repaid their EMIs on
the assigned date to the concerned parties. The Days Past Due Date (DPD) is recorded for each day the
customer has failed its repayment. If the case has not been cleared after 90 days, the case is allocated to
the legal team. Post 90 days, the case is escalated as an NPA.

www.getlend.in
 Case Study
Results:

>> The robotic lending application was launched in July 2018 and by January 2019, the number of
applications received per day had increased to 300% within the span of six months. The lending
institution was empowered with an easily configurable system that has zero lines of intricate coding.

>> The lending institution successfully reduced the total loan processing time from several days to
less than 15 minutes. Apart from the dramatic decrease in time, operational cost had reduced
significantly now that most of the processes were digital and required less man-power.

>> The efficiency of the entire process had increased by over 65% with a smooth application process
and an underwriting stage that made the requirement of any man-power nearly redundant.

>> Customer acquisition had increased significantly with a broader reach across all digital platforms
and the partner integrations with the app-based line of credit and the taxi aggregator, aided by X-Sell.

>> The lending institution was able to provide an intuitive experience to customers and ease the process
between the “maker and checker” with their robust technology. The result was a seamless, digital
experience that rivalled any existing offline or semi-automated process in the market today.

“Our lending institution is serving over 10,000,000 customers since we launched the application, one of
South East Asia’s first robotic mobile lending app. Lend.In has enabled us to provide our customers a
loan process that can be completed in under 15 minutes. We developed a great partnership with Kuliza
and appreciate their approach in helping us transform our business.”
- Head of IT

About Kuliza
Kuliza is a leading provider of digital transformation and operational intelligence solutions for financial
enterprises. Since 2006, Kuliza has executed more than 120 digital transformation projects for global
startups and industry-leading global enterprises. Lend.in is Kuliza’s flagship lending product, a new-age
lending institutions to increase the overall efficiencies while decreasing the cost and go-to-market time
for customers.

Awards & Recognition

Kuliza’s lending software
recognized by Senior Analyst
Rob Koplowitz for driving
process automation in digital
lending.
Kuliza recognized by Gartner Ranked by EY and Banking Frontier
Winner in Technology Domain at
Analyst Rajesh Kandaswamy as a as amongst the Top 5 Banking
ET Innovation Tribe BFSI Awards,
“Catalyst that helps financial Tech Innovations for 2018
2018
services firm compete in fintech
market”

Other Recognitions

www.getlend.in