NO BANK ACCOUNT NEEDED: Borrowers’ interest rates are set based on their telecom payment records and they are vetted using mobile identity authentication technology

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 10, 2018
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

The nation’s first sandbox experiment with financial technology (fintech) innovations — which allows consumers to apply for small loans via mobile devices without bank accounts or credit records — began on Wednesday and has attracted more than 50 applicants per day since, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said.

The FSC is monitoring the experiment to see if impostor fraud occurs, the commission’s Department of Planning Director-General Lin Chih-chi (林志吉) told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday.

The experiment was initiated by KGI Bank (凱基銀行) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), and enables borrowers older than 20 to be reviewed by the bank using mobile identity authentication technology. After passing the review, they can obtain loans with interest rates set by the bank’s scoring model, which is linked to their telecom payment records.

KGI Bank, a subsidiary of China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控), said that the 50 applications per day met its expectations, but declined to reveal the number of loan approvals or how much money it has lent.    [FULL  STORY]