Mumbai: Crediwatch has been named an ‘IDC Innovator’ in the IDC Innovators: APIs Transforming BFSI in India, 2021 (IDC # AP47682721, June 2021) report. APIs or application programming interfaces are what enable interactions between multiple software or software-hardware applications. Crediwatch APIs have been deployed successfully at multiple companies that are operating in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.
“Banks are bracing themselves to the inevitable structural changes accelerated by open banking. To adapt to this new reality, banks need to aggressively deploy APIs for expanding their circle of engagement and influence in increasingly competitive digital ecosystem,” said Ganesh Vasudevan, Research Director, Financial Insights at IDC in an earlier release.
Lending companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) products like Crediwatch to grow their loan books, while reducing their risks such as loan defaults and non-performing assets.
“This is validation for Crediwatch’s industry-leading innovation,” said Meghna Suryakumar, Founder and CEO of Crediwatch.
Crediwatch (CW) is a fintech and data science company head-quartered in Bangalore, India. CW is a digital trust platform that lenders use for actionable intelligence and predictive analytics on the overall health of businesses.
“Meeting current and the future customers’ demands is pivotal and by deploying APIs, banks can connect with the customers but also enhance the possibilities of reaching out to a larger customer base,” says Rishu Sharma, Principal Analyst, Cloud and AI, IDC India.
Lenders are looking to satisfy the demand for credit with newer technologies and data science making previously underserved customers eligible in their eyes.
“Our products are built with the aim of removing barriers to credit and increasing access to capital. This means that we are making it easier to do business in India,” said Suryakumar, adding that “Lenders are keen to adopt AI/ML-driven solutions because of the intrinsic value it delivers for their business.”
CW counts 20 top lenders from India among its clients, including India’s largest lender, State Bank of India, as well as IndusInd Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Deutsche Bank, Aditya Birla Finance and Sundaram Finance. Crediwatch, founded in 2016 by Meghna Suryakumar and Sandeep Anandampillai, has received recognitions from HDFC Bank, Citibank and Barclays. The fintech company is an early-stage business that is backed by leading domestic and international investors, including Artis Ventures, Abstract Ventures and Better Capital.
CW says its products are available through APIs as well as web-based interfaces. They are used in the banking and financial services sector for credit risk analysis, monitoring of loan portfolios and predictive analytics. Such technology adoption is part of an overall move towards digital transformation of the lending business.
Experts, including economists in government policy panels, have argued that adoption of new and emerging technology by the BFSI sector has the potential to unlock value for the MSME sector by easing access to capital for small businesses. Faster adoption of such technologies could have huge implications for economic growth.
The MSME sector accounts for 29 percent of India’s annual GDP. This includes nearly 30 million business enterprises that do not have access to formal credit, leaving them underbanked.
