FinTech and Technology Innovations

SBR 2

Bringing banking to the underserved

population in APAC & MENA region

Submitted By-

Saubhagya Dev Thakur (MS21GF020)

Jaina Sanghavi (MS21GF008)
Muskaan Kasliwal (MS21GF011)
Adarsh Rumma (MS21MM041)
Ayash Kumar Jain (MS21GF026)
Gaps in the lending world:
1. Security of Data- Whether it's online payment, payment apps, or Fintech in general,
data security has emerged as one of the top issues in the online world.
Solution- The assistance of a Fintech app development business will help create a
high-level security app. The following elements could be included in the app to
increase security:
 Permission via two factors
 Authentication using biometrics
 Data obfuscation and encryption
 Real-time notifications and alerts
 Behavioural research

2. Adherence to laws and regulations- One of the industries that is most regulated is
finance. Even if you utilize conventional Fintech software that omits blockchain and
other essential technologies, there will always be government intervention.
Solution- Make sure to verify that the software is compliant with the law before using
it or developing an application. Additionally, if necessary, you can engage a legal
adviser to walk you through every fundamental guideline and policy. Ensure your
legal staff is aware of the most recent government regulations before you hit the
market so you can make the necessary changes right away.
3. Lack of tech and mobile expertise- Some banks or financial organizations in the
fintech sector lack adequate or practical mobile banking capabilities. Although some
banks attempt to mimic websites, nobody would choose a mobile application in
today's digital environment. Every user seeks a simple and practical alternative.
Solution- To enable users to use fintech app development services, your mobile
device must have the following characteristics:
 Payments through QR-code for public transportation
 Shops with NFC chips
 Automatic lens-based credit card number scanning
 Finger-print two-factor authentication
 The hardware of the devices can be fully integrated to do this.

The cost of information and its accessibility and ease of availability is also a concern. Loan
processing time and delay in disbursal due to document verification in banks is also an issue
to be considered and these can be solved by using technologies like cloud, blockchain, and
artificial intelligence.
Major service lines
 Digital banking is making the traditional banking processes digital by eliminating
the need for physical documents such as checks, pay-in slips, Demand Drafts, etc. It
implies that all banking actions are available online.
 Equity crowdfunding is a novel method for raising funds without incurring
additional debt. It's a kind of fundraising that aims to recruit investors ready to
contribute cash to your business objectives in exchange for a financial share in the
firm.
 Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending allows borrowers to get loans directly from other
borrowers, bypassing the financial institution as the intermediary.
 P2P lending is often referred to as crowd lending and social lending.
 Robo-advisors are digital platforms that provide algorithm-driven, automated
financial planning services with little human oversight. A typical Robo-advisor
employs an online questionnaire to inquire about your financial state and future
objectives; it then uses this information to provide investment advice and invest on
your behalf.
With the underserved and under-banked sector being the victims of corruption and not being
able to get access to education, we decided to come up with a platform that is fair for them
and helps them get loans much more conveniently without the hassle of long hectic
processes and documentation. With that in mind, we will be focussing on a P2P lending
platform to help make banking easier for the underserved population in APAC and MENA
regions. It will be the most appropriate platform as borrowers will be able to meet lenders
directly without having a bank as the middleman which further will help borrowers to get
loans at cheaper interest rates and with much ease as well.
As we already know the underserved population does not regularly indulge with banks and it
is hard to judge the creditworthiness because there is no credit rating, we will be using
alternative credit scoring gathered from social media and bill payments of the borrower.
Evaluation strategyw
Leaders and the advisors’ businesses need to have a thorough understanding of their target
market's demographics, including how big it is both nationally and regionally and why it
needs their product. Additionally, how does their service vary from that of other companies,
such as a digital bank that caters to independent contractors and sole proprietors or a credit
rating agency that employs more precise scoring methods than traditional banks?
The Financials of the company should consider the total risk associated with peer-to-peer
lending. The financials of the customers should be verified quickly and properly using data
analytics and AI.
The plan of expansion is digital wallets. E-wallets combine a basic account with a payment
processor to enable users to use preloaded virtual currency to pay for products and services.
proposed method P2P lending systems with integrated account opening capabilities offering
equity crowd financing and robotic advice
It is important to meet the needs of the underserved and underbanked people.
Cloud-based SaaS and information storage guarantee strong cyber security oversight and
save businesses money on license costs.
Using AI and ML techniques to detect and analyze applications can cut the processing time.
Blockchain can help with security challenges.

Emerging needs of the new markets APAC and MENA and the proposed strategy:
 One of the main needs of these markets is Security. Online or digital payments need
data security in order to have secure transactions. This can be done using blockchain.
Blockchain will help in securing the transactions made online and prevent any kind of
fraud.
  Speed of transactions: In order to have speedy transactions blockchain can be used for
data verification and Artificial Intelligence for processing using algorithms. Using
these, the time taken for these transactions can be reduced extensively.
 Low-interest rates: Higher interest rates make other currencies less valuable, increase
the cost of servicing current debt, and frequently cause money to leave emerging
markets. Thus, there is a need for low-interest rates and for that peer-to-peer lending
platforms are suitable as they have low operation costs.

Proposed strategy:
In order to address the pain points of underserved and underbanked populations, peer-to-peer
lending platforms with account opening facilities, integration of Robo advisors, and
providing equity crowdfunding are suitable.
We’re taking inspiration from a platform known as Earnest. It has developed algorithms for
precision pricing to determine customized personal loans and student loans. The platform
takes the input from the borrower on how much they can pay every month and finds a lender
who can match their needs. It doesn’t use standard rates and considers everybody’s unique
situations. For example, the farmers will have a good amount of money in the harvest season
and there may be months when they’ll face a cash crunch. This system will be useful for
them. (Earnest has a loan portfolio of %500 million)
Another excellent example we’re considering is Tala. It is using Big Data to cater to the
unbanked people and this app disburses loans using data from the phone like social media
and bill payments to assess the creditworthiness. Tala is working on bringing this kind of loan
system to India, the Philippines, etc.
Our focus is to make banking easy and accessible for the underserved and unbanked people
in the APAC and MENA region. We’re focussing on P2P lending for serving the unbanked
people. Our focus is to provide low-interest rates and a flexible repayment structure along
with secure banking facilities.
Fintech that will be deployed in this sphere is as discussed-
 Cloud technology- To reduce the huge costs of having large data warehouses, on-
premise hardware, and licensed software, we can use a hybrid system involving cloud
technology. We can store the data and do the processing using the cloud and we only
have to pay for what we use. Cloud-based SaaS ensures strong cybersecurity and
prevents threats from data theft. Cloud also provides ease of scalability
 Blockchain- Blockchain can be used for providing secure transactions and we can
leverage the authenticity of this technology to gain the trust of the people. The
underserved and unbanked people have fear of theft and corruption and blockchain
can address this by providing safe transactions it can also be deployed for fast and
efficient document verification for checking the creditworthiness of the clients.
 Robo Advisors- We’re implementing Robo Advisors for helping rural people get
audio instructions as they’re not acquainted and comfortable with digital services.
Robo Advisors will be programmed to give assistance in local languages and hence
provide a personalized experience.
 Artificial intelligence and Machine learning algorithms- We can use the KNN
algorithm to predict the creditworthiness of the clients in a fast and efficient way. This
will help people get a loan within an hour and reduce the processing time. This
platform will help the unbanked and underserved people get easy loans at low-interest
 rates as the platform operating costs are low. This will help them raise the capital they
need for their business without getting exploited by the debtors.
 Alternate credit scoring- We can provide alternate credit scoring for unbanked people
with no credit history. We can use their shopping bills, mobile bills, and social media
to assess their creditworthiness and each loan will be designed as per the client in
terms of the interest rate and repayment structure.