RHB rolls out ChatBot ‘messenger’
> Bank eyes 76% jump in business with region’s first online personal loan application processing platform
KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd expects to see a 76% increase in its conventional personal loan disbursement this year to RM1.5 billion, from RM850 million last year, driven by consumption and needs of consumers for immediate cash.
RHB acting head of retail banking Nazri Othman said year to date, the bank’s conventional personal loan disbursement has reached RM1.1 billion.
He was speaking in conjunction with the introduction of Southeast Asia’s first online personal loan application processing platform ChatBot in collaboration with financial comparison website RinggitPlus.
“The growth is impressive but that doesn’t mean we give out loans without proper vetting and verification. Our credit decision engine that we built is complex and we look into many aspects of the applicant’s background and profile. We have the infrastructure and technology to support it, a 10minute approval and disbursement system as well as a wide distribution network. We’re confident with this business,” he told reporters after introducing ChatBot yesterday.
He said personal loan makes up 17% of RHB’s retail banking’s portfolio while its impaired loans ratio at 1.5% was below the industry average of 1.6%.
Meanwhile, ChatBot is a realtime messenger-style platform to facilitate personal loan applications. Consumers can now apply for their personal loan at any time of the day via ChatBot on RinggitPlus.com and obtain the results for eligibility within a day via SMS.
Earlier, Nazri said RHB is targeting to grow its personal loan disbursement by 60% to RM60 million by year end via ChatBot. With ChatBot, it aims to achieve an increase of 67% or RM5 million in personal loan disbursement on a monthly basis. Over the last 12 months up to August this year, it has seen an average of RM3 million personal loan disbursements per month through RinggitPlus.
RHB has been partnering with RinggitPlus to enable online loan applications over the past three years.
Nazri added that ChatBot enables consumers to apply for personal loan without the hassle of completing and submitting forms at the initial stage of application. Thanks to ChatBot, consumers can enjoy a simple, fast and seamless digital banking experience.
ChatBot embraces technology that enables RinggitPlus.com and RHB to offer a “conditional approval” feature that allows consumers to know whether they are eligible for the loan quickly and without the need to submit a full application. Once approved, consumers can visit any one of the 35 RHB Sales Centres or 23 Sales Hubs that they have pre-selected during the application with their NRIC to complete the process and collect their (personal) loan. The personal loan ranges from RM2,000 to RM15,000 on a two to five years tenure.