The future of B2C lending in a digital world: What does it mean for the industry?

As digital technology continues to change the way we live, consumer lending is changing fast. But lenders need to go beyond merely translating existing processes into their digital equivalents if they are to keep up with these changes. Real innovation is needed.

Digital technology is disrupting the consumer lending market. In an online world consumers have more information and more power. And their expectations are changing. They want simple, intuitive and flexible interfaces. Cumbersome processes for proving identity and affordability are no longer acceptable. Decisions are expected within minutes rather than days. And trust in established brands is rapidly eroding with consumers instead trusting in the advice and experience of other consumers.

In addition technology makes it relatively easy for new players to enter the market. Challenger banks are on the rise. Foreign banks are able to develop a global reach that was simply impossible 20 years ago. And new types of lenders such as peer to peer lenders are emerging: these often have different security requirements and different expectations for returns making them hard to compete with.

Unfortunately digital technology comes with some severe downsides. Fraud is on the rise as consumers increasingly make themselves vulnerable through the use of insecure computers and smartphones; at the same time criminals are becoming more and more skilled at conducting confidence tricks using social engineering techniques.

And responding to all these forces, regulators are moving towards stricter regulations, of which GDPR (and for instance its restrictions on automated decision making) is but one example.

What can lenders do about this? Technology and data can be on their side. Advanced analytics and machine learning help to de risk lending, enabling lenders to match the right customer to the right product. On the other hand, it is fundamental to collect more information, identify key data, elaborate them in order to optimise flows and provide actionable insights. Open APIs to allow intermediaries and lenders to work together more effectively. And lenders can use technology to meet customer expectations while at the same time defending themselves by ensuring records of information given, discussions had, and questions asked are maintained in an accessible form.

But technology on its own is not the answer. Lenders need development processes that are agile, rapid and secure and that have privacy built in by design. They need holistic organisational processes so that marketing speaks to compliance and compliance speaks to development. And they need a culture of innovation so that they don’t stop at developing me-too products or think of transformation as merely meaning digitisation: rather they need to rethink their products from the bottom up, reinventing what they deliver and how they deliver it. Not an easy challenge.

The questions we will explore

During the meeting we will focus on questions such as:

• Who are the new competitors and how can we compete with them?
• What do consumers expect from lenders nowadays? And what do they really want?
• What are the risks around developing a digital platform for B2C lending and how can they be overcome?
• How can the use of a digital platform for B2C lending be used to drive business growth?
• How can we achieve genuine innovation rather than simply digitise existing processes? Are there lessons to be learned from the new challengers and how can we learn these lessons?
• What are the key aspects you look for in a partner/provider able to help you gain a competitive edge

Who is invited?

COOs, Heads of Operations, Operations Directors; CROs and Heads of risk; Heads of Fraud, Chief Digital Officers and heads of Digital; CMOs and marketing directors at large banks and lenders.

Registered attendees include:

• Operations Director - Finance Ireland
• Head of Digital and Innovation - AIB
• Director - KBC Bank
• Head of Sales & Marketing - Pepper Money
• Head of Fraud Technology - Bank of Ireland
• Head of Operational Risk - Ulster bank
• Head of Credit Risk - Acq Strategy & Underwriting - PTSB

Be one of 10 senior business professionals around the table at The Westbury Hotel who will all bring their expertise to bear to analyse the present – and the future.