AECB automates bank credit report-pulling processes

Dubai / Emirates Business

Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) , the UAE’s credit reporting company, launched the Application-to-Application (A2A) advanced feature in January, granting lenders direct access to the Bureau’s database to extract that data they need and use it as direct input into their own decision-making systems. UAE’s Leading financial institution, Mashreq has become the first Bank to enable this advanced feature.
Banks as well as finance companies and telecom operators can now start making use of the Application-to-Application (A2A) feature. In a typical scenario, an entity would be able to use personal information extracted from an Emirates ID chip, automatically use that information as input for making a credit report enquiry, retrieve a set of data fields chosen by the entity and input it directly into an internal decision-making systems in order to shoot back and an immediate response.
Marwan Lutfi, CEO of Al Etihad Credit Bureau, said: “It is important to be at the forefront of digital integration and Application-to-Application (A2A) feature is the newest way of connecting to the company’s database in a seamless and effortless manner. Banks, finance companies and telecom operators can now design internal decision-making systems that instantly read information from Al Etihad Credit Bureau and use it for customizing products, offers, services and rates while customers are being serviced. With Mashreq being the first bank to adopt this advanced feature, we believe that financial institutions will not only become more creative and innovative in the way they make use of such feature but also differentiate their offerings and services towards consumers.”
AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, Mashreq CEO, commented: “We are pleased to be the First bank to go live with the new Application-to-Application (A2A) feature. This is yet another industry first for Mashreq and reflects the Bank’s values in embracing new technology and staying ahead of the market. This automated feature will allow us to service our customers better since processing loan applications will be seamless, error free and most significantly enable faster turnaround. Overall this will also help improve productivity and efficiency by enabling straight through processing. Credit Bureau is an important initiative for the banking sector in UAE to enable prudent lending and is expected to improve portfolio quality over time. We fully support this initiative and will continue to use this facility to simplify processes and enhance customer experience.”
Through Application-to-Application (A2A), credit information will be readily accessible by credit lenders around the clock, virtually enabling sales forces and retail branches to make decisions according to defined credit parameters set at the corporate level in each institution. This in turn enables corporates to plug specific data where needed in their own systems to take decisions using the valuable data from the Bureau that has never been available through such a mechanism in the past.
Mashreq Bank is the first to start leveraging this service and several other institutions are scheduled to go live with this feature this year. Application-to-Application (A2A) feature is one of the many innovative value-added services that will be launched this year by Al Etihad Credit Bureau. It is available as an advanced feature for all corporate subscribers.
Photo Caption: Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, CEO of Mashreq and Marwan Lutfi, CEO of Al Etihad Credit Bureau.