SCB launches historic 24-hour e-lending service

BANGKOK, January 15 (TNA) - Thailand-based Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has launched a historic service in the country's banking sector by providing its 24-hour lending to their clients via their mobile phones. SCB Senior Executive Vice President Apiphan Charoenanusorn told journalists of her bank's new service under the "SCB Easy Digital Lending" Program on Monday, stressing that it is also such the first-ever service in Thailand. Apiphan explained that under the new 50 million baht-service, existing clients are no longer required to submit their paper requests for her bank's loans, but submitting their requests and waiting for approvals via the "SCB EASY" mobile banking service in only about three minutes in three e-steps instead. Apiphan noted that most of the steps are also applied to her bank's new clients who, however, need to wait only about one hour for a bank request for their submission of additional information. According to the senior banker, clients who are approved their lending via the "SCB Easy Digital Lending" Program will also enjoy a fixed lending rate of 15 per cent annually throughout their lending periods as of January 31, 2018, from the normal rates of 21.5-28 per cent. Besides, clients who are approved their loans through the SCB cash card system can each enjoy the grace period for the first three monthly bills. The senior banker estimated that about 10 billion baht should be totally approved via the "SCB Easy Digital Lending" Program, about 70 per cent of which should be personal loans, along with cash cards and credit cards, while the rest should be car loans and housing loans. The senior banker assessed that SCB should lend a total of about 70 billion baht to new clients who each seek for small amounts of loans this year, a 75 per cent growth from last year, out of its total approved loans of about 358 billion baht. Meanwhile, SCB Executive Vice President Yen Lotner said that his bank has resorted to the Data Analytic and the Machine Learning systems with the high precision to scrutinize their clients in line with regulations issued by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) in order to reduce its lending risks. (TNA)