CreditFix, a Pakistani-based fintech firm are working on
a system that will approving loans from consumers in Pakistan that other
lenders have denied them credit.
About CreditFix
CreditFix was founded by Owais Zaidi after he was approached for a 1,000 rupee loan by a taxi driver to fix his car tires, but couldn’t afford the 50 rupee daily interest that banks would charge him. Though he donated the cash to the taxi driver, he was greatly concerned on how the poor were exploited by predatory lending practices ; including loan sharks. As a result of this, CreditFix was founded in 2016. Through CreditFix, he planned to build a loan market that used different criteria to determine a person’s credit worthiness. This was so to consumers who could not access bank loans. The company is now located in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Owais Zaidi
CreditFix Website
The CreditFix website states that approximately 95% of adults in Pakistan don’t have access to financial services. CreditFix has come in to tackle this problem by using different criteria including predictive modelling to determine a person’s creditworthiness. If you visit the CreditFix website they have stated that the loans granted will help protect consumers from lenders that use absurd lending practices especially in the informal credit market.
CreditFix Programme
CreditFix plans to launch a pilot programme in August. This programme will kickstart with 50,000 potential customers. CreditFix’s platform will use different data to determine the borrowers’ credit worthiness. From utility payments , mobile topups to work histories it will be easy for lenders to come up with credit scores that will determine the credit limits for potential customers.
In a statement, Owais Zaidi reiterated that CreditFix aims to facilitate access of fair credit by the unbanked population especially credit for revenue generating assets.
Mobile Use in Pakistan
In Pakistan, there are over 130 million people who have access to mobile phones. This statistics were released by The Express Tribune. But according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority there is a definite increase of mobile phone users when compared to its 2016 figures.
This wide use of mobile phones have enabled CreditFix to come up with a mobile app that enables users to access credit within five simple steps. Consumers can access credit from CreditFix if their loans fit in these four categories :
· Livestock finance,
· Smart grid finance,
· Farm equipment finance and
Overview
With the advancement of Fintech, traditional form of credit may be in trouble. It is hoped that this platform from CreditFix will enable access to fair and transparent credit to millions of Pakistani citizens that can access loans from regulated financial institutions.
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