B2B Payments Rethinking The SME Loan Underwriting Model In Southeast Asia

March 10th, 2020 – The small business credit gap is a global issue, a problem that banks and FinTechs continue to hack away at, yet one that remains stubbornly persistent.

In markets like Southeast Asia, high rates of credit-invisible, underbanked small businesses make filling the small business credit gap an even more difficult challenge.

At the root of the matter is often a lack of predictive data to ascertain the creditworthiness of these small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Traditional banks will require credit histories and collateral to underwrite a small business loan, both of which many SMBs in Southeast Asian nations lack. It’s a self-perpetuating scenario that keeps barriers to capital in place.

In a recent conversation with PYMNTS, Raghav Mathur, head of data science and analytics at Singapore-based Grab Financial Group, discussed the opportunities in data technology that can address the region’s most pressing SMB lending needs.

More…https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2020/grab-financial-data-science-southeast-asian-smb-financing/

Written by Pymnts