KEY POINTS
- Mina Bank starts building a partner-branded loan framework using customer activity data
- Credit screening model adds purchase and service-use records from partner platforms to conventional credit data
- API-based scheme lets partner companies embed loan applications into existing services without building lending systems
Mina Bank
Mina Bank said on July 24 it has started building a framework for dedicated loan products tailored to the customers of its corporate partners, using customer activity data such as purchase records and service usage history.
The digital bank said the scheme would link multidimensional activity data from partner companies’ platforms with Mina Bank’s banking functions through application programming interfaces, or APIs, allowing partners to develop original loan products for their own customers.
The initiative is aimed at cases where conventional credit screening based on credit information, borrowing status and employment-related data such as annual income does not offer sufficient loan options to some customers, including younger users. Under the new model, Mina Bank plans to add an assessment of customer engagement on partner platforms to its core credit-based lending judgment.
That would allow partner companies to offer more flexible loan services to highly engaged customers under credit criteria optimized for their user bases, while embedding loan applications into services customers already use. Mina Bank said companies could introduce the lending process through its APIs without building complex financial systems from scratch.
The bank is seeking discussions with companies interested in using financial functions to offer new services to their customers, strengthen engagement and support business growth.
Customer data held by partner companies would be shared with Mina Bank only with the consent of the individual customer, using secure APIs or similar methods under a mechanism now under consideration, according to the release. The release added that screening under the model would not guarantee loan approval.
All screening and lending for the proposed loans will be conducted by Mina Bank, and the credit model will be owned by the bank.
Mina Bank is a digital-only bank in Japan. Embedded finance, in which non-financial companies integrate banking or payment functions into their own platforms, has expanded in Japan as companies seek to add financial services without obtaining a full banking license under the country’s regulated banking system.
Read More: Mina Bank builds partner-loan scheme with API-based credit model
