People’s Bank launches People’s WiZCredit digital loan services to simplify personal loans

Tuesday, 12 February 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

People’s Bank is poised to revolutionise and simplify the processing of personal loans with the launch of the Retail Loan Origination System (RLOS) – People’s WizCredit. It is the newest addition to their digital omini channel, under the well-known digital product umbrella of ‘People’s Wiz’, which onboards customers digitally along with a host of value-added services.

The first step for any kind of personal loan application, RLOS is a business process re-engineering to initiate, submit, recommend, approve and disburse all personal loans on a digital application eliminating paperwork, except for security documents. People’s WizCredit was launched by People’s Bank on 28 January 2019 with the ceremonial opening of the re-located Maharagama Branch, in the presence of Peoples Bank Chairperson Sujatha Cooray, on the invitation of CEO/General Manager N. Vasantha Kumar.

Ranjith Kodituwakku, Deputy General Manager (Commercial Banking and Digitalization)

Chaminda Ihalakorala - Chief Manager (Commercial Credit)

People’s WizCredit will be accessible at 35 main branches in all 24 regions within two weeks and expanded gradually to all branches, with a goal to have 100 branches equipped with the People’s WizCredit this year. Currently, about 300 digital agents are trained to operate the system, which will be initiated with Personal Loans backed by cash margins and personal guarantees, and later extended to motor vehicles and real estate.

People’s Bank’s customers will benefit by way of shorter processing times, as loans will be provided to retail customers through the new People’s WizCredit with a straight-through approval and disbursement process. Any customer applying for a loan through People’s WizCredit can either visit one of its digitally enabled loan centres or make an online request by entering basic information. The customer will then be contacted by the Bank’s Digital Agent for further details.

When the application is submitted, loan approval/disbursement will happen within an hour up to seven days depending on the amount of the loan and collateral documentation implications. The customer’s presence is required only for the signature for submission of application and signing of security documents along with the guarantors if any. This is a process facilitated by the digital agents of the bank and the customer will experience obtaining a loan digitally even if they are not tech savvy.

Commenting on this milestone, Deputy General Manager/Commercial Banking and Digitalisation Ranjith Kodituwakku stated, “The bank has already mastered the art of digitalisation along its digitalisation journey and this is yet another industry-leading milestone since the bank launched its digital onboarding system in 2017. People’s Bank expects to accrue huge delivery efficiency, with loans being dispersed in a timely manner. People’s WizCredit is a system built as an internal process, which captures relevant details digitally for the respective authority for recommendation and approval on this digital omni platform.

“Most rules on the digital platform are automated, so for credit officers, it is basically a simple method with the system being logical, robust and accurate as required by credit evaluators. We are gratified that our staff can now be freed up to evolve into bankers who will enhance their knowledge and skills for credit analysis, advisory services and the like, by using brain power.”

The idea to implement RLOS was a result of the bank’s strategic plan 2016/2020, under the digitalisation project of the bank. Having already paved the path to being the Most Digitised Bank in Sri Lanka, People’s Bank won ‘The Best Digitisation Initiative Program Award in the Asia Pacific Region’ at the Asian Banker Financial Technology Innovation Awards 2018 held in Beijing, China. Along with their visionary digital partner, Silver Lake Digital Economy Solutions, Edirisinghe, Head of IT, who has previous expertise in this field, the first steps of digitalisation are underway.

Currently, the RLOS system is built only for retail banking purposes, but they plan to make the similar process available for corporate customers and others.

Chief Manager (Commercial Credit) Chaminda Ihalakorala said: “The RLOS is a complete process improvement and a complete revamp of the way loan applications will be handled henceforth. The system will enhance the way bank credit officers work in the future. People’s WizCredit merely eliminates the conventional process to install a faster and more convenient system. The element of evaluating the loan still requires the expertise of credit officers but most of the thumb rules have been taken over by rule engines and logical matrices built in to the process to eliminate the burden of repetitive and typical tasks of the credit evaluating officers.

“Traditionally, the loan process requires about 15 sequential levels – recommending, approval, up to the Board level and on to the final approval which could takes days or at times a month, depending on the loan value. But applying through People’s WizCredit will require only a maximum of 3 to 4 levels for recommending/approving and the loan will be passed within a couple of hours or 2-7 days depending on the loan amount and the nature of collateral submitted.”

Where safety is concerned when it comes to online applications, People’s Bank is the only Bank to be certified by the ISO 27001 for security safety. The Bank does regular testing for hacking and ethical hacking and takes other security safeguards.