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Romanians can access an Ocean Credit loan in just 8 minutes thanks to the new OC 3.0 platform
Ocean Credit has a mission, to turn complex financial information into simple data that can help people save money when borrowing, a press release sent to ACTMedia reads. Time and experience are the decisive factors that differentiate a Fintech from a Bank. Users can now access a loan (from start to finish) in less than 8 minutes. This is due to the new Core Banking OC 3.0. platform, recently launched around 3 basic services: 1) Risk Management based on Machine Learning; 2) Card2card instant money transfer; 3) FICO score analytics. The investment is estimated at RON 4 million, and the development lasted 18 months.
Ocean Credit, The first company to bring card2card money transfer technology for loans on the Romanian market, aims to reduce the time spent with the mobile phone when completing a loan application, from the current 8 minutes to 3-4 minutes, by the end of the year. Currently, users need only 1-2 minutes to get an offer based on their FICO score and data from ANAF and 5-6 minutes to complete a credit application consisting of 4 elements: Facebook profile, CI data, salary card, and electronic signature contract. They then receive the money on their card, at any time and in any day, in just a few seconds.
"We follow international technological developments and we have no reservations in bringing them to the Romanian market if that means an enriched user experience. In 2017, we were the first IFN to implement the instant credit transfer technologies, IBAN to card and card2card, developed by Mastercard and Visa. Traditional IBAN to IBAN transfers cannot be automated and take anywhere from a few minutes for banks that are connected to the Transfond instant transfer service, to a few days for the others. We introduced these technologies together with Libra Bank and Romcard, so we could transfer the credit on the user's salary card in just a few seconds", says Radu Ciorba, CEO & Founder of Ocean Credit.
Ocean Credit is an IFN with a strong technological component, that encourages its customers to borrow responsibly.
Ocean Credit encourages a responsible financial behavior among its users so that they can easily repay their loans, and at the same time follow the evolution of the FICO score and the history of the Credit Bureau, access to which is provided free of charge.
"We have noticed over time that transparency is an element our customers appreciate, through which we build trust, so they choose to stay with us in the long run," continues Radu Ciorba.
Machine learning algorithms analyze the financial history of users in real time, to determine their credit-worthiness, accessing information from external sources, such as the Credit Bureau, ANAF, and Facebook. Thus, the decision to grant a loan is fully automated, eliminating human intervention and, implicitly, possible errors in risk decision and processing delays.
To prevent fraud, Ocean Credit has introduced additional prevention measures. It is the first credit company on the Romanian market to introduce Facebook profile login, as an anti-fraud measure, in addition to the other classic measures: validation of the salary card, identification through a selfie with the identity card, and validation of phone number and CNP with the Credit Bureau and ANAF.
“Innovation comes naturally to us because we keep the customer in mind throughout the entire lending process and we want to make their life easier. Our mission is to transform complex financial information into a simple data dashboard, which saves users time and money on commissions and interest when borrowing ", adds Radu Ciorba.
In 2020, despite the pandemic, Ocean Credit's loan portfolio increased by 60%, and the default rate was reduced to 8%, due to the credit line provided by TBI bank and the AI algorithms for risk management. Thus, the company can profile its applicants and adjust the price policy, managing to attract customers with a high creditworthiness and a FICO score higher than 550.
Ocean Credit is preparing major launches for the first semester of this year, part of their vision to simplify the lives of Romanians when accessing a loan.
“We thought of creating a single product for all credit needs, whether it's repair expenses, overdrafts, shopping cards, or other personal needs. DELFIN, will be the first Revolving Credit Line in Romania, which can be accessed from any bank account", says Radu Ciorba.
Most Ocean Credit investments focused on the development of the Delfin product, which in turn required the development of a new core banking platform, OC 3.0. The BETA version of the product will be launched in April and will be tested on 1000 loyal customers of the company.
The OC 3.0. platform will allow the DELFIN to be managed by all existing salary cards, including Revolut and Monese issued with Romanian BINs. Lending and debiting for these cards will take place in real-time, thanks to MastercardSend and VisaDirect technologies. Thus, any Debit card will be converted into Credit, and users will gain due to lower commissions than in the case of Credit cards.
Ocean Credit plans to use the capital market to increase its loan portfolio from around EUR 2 million currently to EUR 5 million by the end of the year.
"Our goal is to increase our loan portfolio 3 times this year. We envisioned a product that competes with the shopping cards market segment, revolving bank credit lines, and overdrafts. We have a much wider growth area now, through an innovative product that will radically simplify the lending experience, being one step ahead of any player in the market. We pursue the Romanian capital market, as a financial platform for growth and development, in addition to strategic partnerships with TBI, Libra Bank, and a German bank. We are also in the process of integrating with Iuvo, a peer-to-peer lending platform, where we will list our clients’ loans, starting with April, ”added Radu Ciorba.
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About Ocean Credit
Ocean Credit was founded in 2015 as an IFN with a strong technology component, and the desire to change the perception of Romanians regarding classic lending institutions. They are among the pioneers of digital lending in Romania, the first to bring card2card credit transfer technology to the local market, automating the entire lending process, from a KYC (know your customer) based on your Facebook account to instant money transfer on the card salary.
Ocean Credit products are simple and easy to understand, presented under friendly names like Crab with a limit of 1500 lei, Pinguin - 4500 lei, and Delfin up to 9000 lei, accessed exclusively online. Currently, users can access money on their salary cards in just a few seconds at any time and on any day, based on ID, Facebook profile, and a valid phone number.