Customers Can Predict Outcomes by Adding the Power of Psychometrics to Credit Determination
Cape Town, South Africa, 1 August 2021: Principa, a South African innovator and leader in data science and data driven software solutions, today announced it has formed a partnership with psychometric software specialists Astra Constantine. The partnership will enable Principa to add Astra’s psychometric scoring solutions to its offerings. This innovative solution will help clients ascertain potential credit risk amongst consumers without a formal credit rating.
“Consumers without a payment profile on the credit bureau are often completely overlooked when applying for credit. However, they may be exceptional long-term customers looking to enter the formal market. These prospective customers typically form part of South Africa’s growing informal sector,” says Jaco Rossouw, CEO of Principa. “By leveraging the power of psychometrics, we can assess a consumer’s potential risk based on carefully collated inputs, providing a much-needed alternative to traditional bureau data. The goal of this offering is to drive financial inclusion by helping credit grantors level the playing field and afford individuals previously ineligible for credit and other financial services the opportunity to move out of the credit unaware space.”
The partnership combines Principa’s expertise in credit risk origination and channel software (including chatbots) with Astra’s psychometric solutions. Through this, credit providers, such as retailers, specialised lenders, and banks, can reach the previously underserved and provide much needed access to credit and other financial services. Astra will provide access to its psychometrics and cloud platform as part of an integrated Principa solution offering
Prospective credit customers without an official rating will engage with the system via a website or chatbot or be served questions by a call centre agent. The predetermined questions will produce a tailored outcome across a number of dimensions that will guide the credit grantor on the individual’s credit eligibility.
According to Rossouw, advances in technologies and data science are driving increased digital engagement, risk assessment and onboarding. However, the addition of psychometrics is a game-changer as it allows for engagement that previously would not have been possible due to a lack of data.
“The way that a person’s credit admissibility is gauged in an economy that is largely made up of informal traders and a growing SMME sector is outdated. There is a market of unserved borrowers out there who don’t know how to secure credit because the systems don’t work in their favour,” says Jurgen Becker, CEO, Astra. “By combining the power of psychometrics and analytics, we are collectively opening the formal market to prospective customers, while giving financial service providers the much-needed tools and insights in order to engage responsibly and profitably.”
For more information, visit www.principa.co.za.
About Principa
Principa Decisions (Pty) Ltd. work wonders with data science to serve over 150 companies in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Principa’s data science solutions help customers answer questions about the past and present to anticipate future outcomes. Our data scientists, developers and consultants work together to develop data analytics products and solutions that derive answers, predictions and recommended actions from large and complex data. The data insights derived provide the information and knowledge from which to develop more effective strategies, increase efficiency and profitability and decrease cost and risk.
info@principa.co.za, 021 680 6000
About Astra
Astra Constantine is a provider of niche assessment and scoring solutions in the credit and onboarding segments of the market. Our assessments provide novel insights into financial behaviour by generating new data points and combining existing data into predictive analytics. Our mission is to utilise the most recent advances in psychometrics and data analytics to provide clients with powerful credit insights, broadening their credit applicant pool and mitigating risk.
info@axconsultgroup.com
