KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): CIMB Bank Philippines (CIMB Bank PH) has partnered Singapore-based fintech company CredoLab to serve underbanked customers in the Philippines, including "thin-file" customers who lack sufficient or any traditional credit bureau data.

According to a media statement, CIMB Bank PH uses CredoApp (CredoLab's white label mobile application) to instantly score applicants, offering a window for those who don't fulfil traditional banking requirements to apply for personal loans of up to one million Philippine pesos.

"CredoApp's bank-grade algorithm analyses nearly 500,000 features from opt-in and permissioned smartphone metadata to find the most predictive behavioural patterns before converting them into credit scores, in a matter of seconds.

"This enables banks like CIMB to understand the repayment behaviour and creditworthiness of their applicants with greater accuracy," the statement said.

The partnership has already scored over 1,000 customers within two weeks of the launch.

"Within 10 minutes, Filipinos can enjoy in-principle approvals on their personal loans through the CIMB App and without having to step foot into or queue at a CIMB bank branch," the statement added.

Commenting on their latest digital initiative, CIMB Bank PH chief executive officer Vijay Manoharan said: "As an all-digital bank, we are continuously looking for ways to improve the banking experience for our customers."

"With CredoLab, we are now focusing on making our application and underwriting process more efficient so that we can extend credit to a broader market without compromising on our cost of risk.

"In this way, we can further drive financial inclusion by enabling more Filipinos access to formal credit lending facilities efficiently," said Manoharan.

CredoLab CEO and co-founder Peter Barcak said: "We are delighted that through our plug and play solution that complements and boosts their existing processes, we are powering CIMB Bank PH's latest efforts in driving financial inclusion by providing credit to those who lack a traditional credit background."

CIMB Bank PH said this partnership with CredoLab supports its plans to onboard more digital-savvy Filipinos by the end of 2019 by using the country's growing smartphone penetration usage to their benefit.

"CIMB Bank PH expects this number to grow at an exponential rate in the weeks to come as the bank steps up its marketing efforts to raise customer awareness and interest in CIMB's personal loan product," it added.