UOB's new partnership with a B2B e-commerce platform uses AI and machine learning to facilitate faster and more accurate loan financing to SMEs in Southeast Asia.
United Overseas Bank (UOB) and business to business e-commerce platform OctoRocket.asia (OctoRocket) have signed a memorandum of understanding to enable small businesses in ASEAN to apply for financing quickly and easily, the bank announced in a press release on Thursday.
OctoRocket is a joint venture launched in January by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Y3 Technologies. It currently facilitates cross-border trade in manufactured food products between suppliers and buyers from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Under the MOU, small businesses that use OctoRocket for at least six months can apply for financing directly to UOB via the online platform. The bank will use OctoRocket transactional data to assess the applicant's creditworthiness instead of the company’s financial statements, which will cut the time taken for loan approvals from an average of 2.5 days to just 15 minutes, UOB said.
SMEs Going Digital
The credit assessment engine, developed by Avatec.ai (itself a joint venture between UOB and Pintec Technology Holdings), uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to gain insights into the applicant’s cashflow and day-to-day operations
«Small businesses, which comprise nearly 99 percent of total enterprises in ASEAN, form the backbone of the region’s economy. Given the important role in they play in the economy, we want to help them drive efficiencies to grow their business effectively,» Lawrence Loh, Head of Group Business Banking, UOB, said.
«Many small to medium-sized businesses have started to explore opportunities overseas for higher revenue and returns. We saw an opportunity for e-commerce to support suppliers as a group to help them reach the right buyers in different markets,» Julian Tan, Chairman, OctoRocket and Chief of Digital Business, SPH, said about the agreement with UOB.
