Consumer lender driven by AI and Open Banking launches

A new digital consumer lender, Fintern, has launched with aim to radically transform the financial well-being of people which the company says goes beyond traditional credit scoring and puts affordability first.

Fintern is the first digital consumer lender to use proprietary Artifical Intelligence (AI), Open Banking and transparent affordability testing, replacing outdated credit scores, to make responsible lending decisions. The company will expand access to affordable personal loans by using Open Banking data and its AI platform to provide low cost loans of up to £5,000 to consumers excluded by traditional banks.

The company says that the UK consumer lending market is worth £160 billion, yet over 15 million people in the UK are denied access to affordable loans. These people are resorting to unsustainable means including high-cost lenders and buy-now-pay-later schemes to manage their lives.

Gerald Chappell, CEO and co-founder of Fintern said “Fintern will help people to really understand what is affordable for them, rather than offering yet another faceless transactional process. Currently, lenders either lend money or don’t, and then don’t engage with the borrower again until the loan terms ends or payments are missed.”

“Our success as a lender lies in the ability of our customers to repay their loans. Our AI-powered technology helps us and all our customers to understand their finances in a deeper, more hands-on way than ever before. This approach allows us to increase approval rates, lower APRs and empower our customers to make the best and most responsible borrowing decisions for them.”

Dr. Michelle He, COO and co-founder of Fintern said “We will be closer to our customers than incumbent lenders can ever be, and this will differentiate us in the marketplace. Intelligently integrating AI and Open Banking data disrupts credit decisioning for the better of all customers. Doing it well requires the right experience. Data and technology are Fintern’s bread and butter. We have an amazing team with extensive experience in digital lending and credit analytics. They are customer obsessed and have made the Fintern App a unique experience.”

Chappell continued “As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, Fintern is needed now more than ever. While many existing lenders are reducing credit supply given the shock to their existing portfolios, Fintern uses high frequency transaction data to understand consumers’ real time financial circumstances and lend responsibly. Over the next 4-5 years, we intend to rapidly grow in the UK building a £1bn loan book alongside broadening our product range and considering expansion to other geographies.”

Fintern received its FCA authorisation as a regulated consumer credit lender in February 2021.