Raman Kumar, Founder, CASHe
Raman has over 30 years of experience owning and managing public and private companies. He was the founder, former Chairman/CEO and Board Director of MModal Inc. Raman has won several awards and recognitions for his outstanding contributions to entrepreneurship and business leadership. Amongst others, he won the Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 award for Maryland. Raman is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of Aeries Technology Group and CASHe is his latest venture. In conversation with Dominic Rebello, Raman says that there is huge opportunity to reinvent the short-term financial products market which is underserved and plans to increase the client base from 15000 to 100,000 by 2017 and aim to reach 400,000 borrowers by the end of 2018.
What is the idea behind CASHe?
At CASHe, we believe that the short-term financial products market is underserved and there is a huge opportunity to reinvent the category. Past credit data to evaluate credit worthiness of young professionals used by the current banking and credit rating companies defies logic. CASHe uses modern technology combined with intelligent big data analytics, predictive algorithms to map young professionals across the country based on their mobile, digital footprint and their social behaviour patterns to rate their credit worthiness. We are intensely focused on improving the financial worth of young urban professionals with our transparent and simple short term financial products. CASHe products are 100% app-based, user friendly, instant & digital. The total loan process takes under 10 minutes for completion.
CASHe provides unsecured short-term personal loans from 5000-100,000 for 15-30-90 days’ duration to young employed professionals in the age group of 20-35 years through a smart, intelligent digital app. Its user-friendly digital interface enables faster loan application and quicker loan disbursals.
How much loan disbursements have you done till date and what is your target?
Currently we have an active customer base of over 15,000 and it is growing steadily. Since launch, we have disbursed over 80 crores of loans to our customers and we are growing at 45% in monthly disbursals. We are targeting to achieve 500 crore by the end of 2017. Our client base will grow from 15000 to 100,000 by 2017 and by end 2018 we should reach 400,000 borrowers.
How are you different from others?
All other similar platforms in the market rely on physical verification of the borrower’s documentation, with CASHe, we have made the process in-app and full automated. That’s the key differentiator. Plus, the speed of giving loan – within minutes. CASHe is:
Hard to replicate Customer Experience:
The CASHe experience is hundred percent app based, user friendly, flexible with multiple loan options, and totally digital. The 10-minute Turn-Around-Time for loan disbursal, without the user having to leave their home, is a unique feature of CASHe. The interest rates offered are on par or lower than those offered by credit card companies.
Proprietary Credit Evaluation Framework – The Social Loan Quotient (SLQ): CASHe’s proprietary credit evaluation framework, the Social Loan Quotient (SLQ), uses a combination of Big Data Analytics and proprietary Artificial Intelligence based algorithms to evaluate tradition inputs and the user’s digital footprint to measure their credit worthiness. The SLQ determines both the loan amount and the interest rate charged.
CASHe’s proprietary SLQ is forward looking in nature as it measures a borrower’s propensity to repay based on currently available information, as opposed to traditional credit scoring systems which deliver a score based only on historical financial behavior. An individual with no history in the Indian financial system, but whom our SLQ engine determines has a reasonable propensity to repay, can get a loan from CASHe.
Where do you see yourself five years down the road?
The concept of availing hassle free loans through a smartphone is relatively new in India. We are encouraged with the response we are getting thus far, and we foresee a huge increase in the trend of getting a loan through a technology platform like CASHe. Our industry-first profile verification methodology, the Social Loan Quotient, will be a game changer in the future and I am confident that our technology model will be and industry norm to verify loan prospects in the future. The market for such loans stands at thousands of crore annually. The target audience itself is about 10 million urban employed millennials in India and growing every year.