FinBox launches Account Aggregator enabled digital lending

By Leandra Monteiro

FinBox, a Bangalore and Gurgaon-based FinTech start-up, has become one of the first companies to go live with the Account Aggregator ecosystem that’s integrated deeply into its user journey.

Through its partnership with Finvu, an RBI-licensed NBFC Account Aggregator, FinBox has further strengthened and consolidated its credit intelligence portfolio that already boasts of a robust risk assessment and alternate data decisioning engine.

The FinBox stack now integrates account aggregator information, credit bureau scores, alternate data, device data, and almost 5,000 other metrics to comprehensively assess potential borrowers.

By powering its stack with the Account Aggregator framework, FinBox will be able to assess and onboard 1 million new loan applicants more accurately in the next quarter. Over the course of the following year, FinBox aims to target a total of 6 million additional potential borrowers using its AA ecosystem, apart from its existing network of partners and lenders.

The recently launched Account Aggregator framework allows customers to avail various financial services from a host of providers by seamlessly sharing their financial information such as bank account details, mutual fund holdings, etc. with a single consent. It allows the user to decide not just the scope of the information shared with each entity but also the time frame within which that information can be used by the said entity.

The AA framework is set to bring convenience to both retail and business borrowers who are increasingly moving towards digital loans through apps and FinTech portals. The ease it enables in data sharing addresses a major pain point plaguing the lending industry. Industry numbers show that as many as 70% of potential borrowers seeking a loan drop off the digital lending journey when asked to upload their bank statements or provide scanned copies of the same. Through its Account Aggregator offering, FinBox aims to bring the drop-off rate down to less than 10%.

“The Account Aggregator framework promises to bring a radical transformation in India’s lending space. It will allow lenders to assess a wider selection of data points to determine a borrower’s credit worthiness, thus bringing underbanked sections of the population into the fold of formal lending. Besides, the ease and security with which it enables data sharing will give the lending industry a major boost, with borrowers becoming more willing to share their data with financial institutions,” said Rajat Deshpande, CEO, and Co-Founder of FinBox.

“We’re excited to be working with FinBox to enable the Account Aggregator framework on their platform. Lending is, at its core, a transaction that’s based on trust. And through this partnership, FinBox is set to strengthen and optimize the process of consent-based data sharing – a win for the company and for the borrowers it serves. Finvu is proud to partner and enables yet another cutting-edge technology use case in the FinTech space,” shared Munish Bhatia, Co-founder, Finvu.