Satin Creditcare Network Limited (“SCNL”) [BSE: 539404; NSE: SATIN], one of the leading microfinance companies in the country, has launched LoanDost, a digital lending platform for short to medium term personal loans. The application is available on Google Play Store for Android users and can be used for availing instant loans up to 25,000 in the first phase. SCNL has partnered with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, India (HSBC) to manage the digital collection of EMI payment, using the UPI platform.
In addition to consumers in metros, LoanDost will also serve the instant credit requirements of people in tier 2 and 3 cities. Therefore, it bridges the massive credit gap for the unbanked and underbanked population in the country. The mobile first platform will target millennials aged between 20 to 40 years, who are open to experimenting with technology. Minimum monthly salary of applicants can be as low as INR 23,000. After signing up by providing the necessary identification documents, an applicant can receive the loan in his account within 20 minutes.
Speaking about LoanDost, Mr. HP Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Satin Creditcare Network Limited said, “India has witnessed rapid advances in terms of internet connectivity and smartphone penetration over the last few years. This combined with the Government of India’s endeavour to provide a bank account for every adult and investment in digital payments infrastructure will help the digital lending industry reach new heights. LoanDost taps the instant, small loan requirements of the urban and semi-urban population, with a seamless mobile experience. Our decades of experience in microfinance gives us a distinct advantage to understand consumers’ borrowing journey and transform it using our in-house digital expertise.”
Speaking about the partnership, Mr. Divyesh K Dalal, Head of Global Liquidity & Cash Management, HSBC India said “Digital lending in India is growing rapidly and partnering with Satin Creditcare Network Solutions in this journey has been an enriching experience. At HSBC, we firmly believe that in addition to designing and deploying best-in-class market-leading solutions, it is equally critical to ensure enhanced consumer experience – which is key to adoption. Given our endeavour to provide enabling solutions to corporate customers, we are happy to roll out UPI collections’ for Satin Creditcare Network Limited which will enable consumers to pay their EMIs seamlessly. Given the increasing adoption of UPI, we believe the solution will enable Satin to not only digitise EMI collections but also reduce its operating costs.”
Company’s in-house technology development centre has designed and developed LoanDost. The centre has been instrumental in the digital transformation journey of the company.
According to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, digital lending in India will become a U.S. $1 trillion opportunity in the next five years. The report also states that about half of the loan applicants with internet access applied for or borrowed digitally over the last 12 months. Moreover, the ticket sizes of digital and physical loans are comparable. These trends indicate that the Indian borrowers are ‘digitally ready’.