Streamlining Debt Collection
The term Non-Performing Asset (NPA) has been dominating the Indian financial news environment for quite some time now. In comes Credgenics, India’s leading recovery and technology-enabled collections platform. It works with financial institutions, banks, NBFCs and digital lending firms to improve the efficiency of their collection using technology, automation intelligence and optimal legal routes in order to expedite the recovery of bad loans.
How did it all start? The growing decibel around the word ‘NPA’ caught the attention of Rishabh Goel, Co-Founder and CEO, Credgenics. It led him to develop an end-to-end software-based debt collection platform to reduce the rising NPAs and solve the woes of the Indian banking industry.
Manual Playbook: Goel says the NPA problem was being portrayed in a manner that cannot be solved. It is impacting the overall growth of the economy and lending rates. He adds that in India or any other developing economy, there is a manual playbook in terms of collecting the debt.
“Through Credgenics we thought that streamlining this playbook will help the economy to grow at a much higher pace and accelerate financial inclusion in the country,” states Goel.
Today, Credgencis is working with the majority of banks and lenders in India and even overseas to enable them to streamline the entire flow around the collection.
Raising Funds: With the rising number of defaults during the Covid-19 pandemic, one would think of it as a boom period for Goel and his platform but in reality it became a zero-revenue phase and a question of survival.
“We could foresee collections becoming a real problem after Covid but then RBI implemented a moratorium which essentially meant that there would be no loan collections for six months leading to a zero-revenue phase and becoming a question of our survival,” describes Goel.
However, during this time, the platform was able to attract every top-notch investor and was able to raise funds solely on the basis of its concept and the belief of it becoming a game-changer in debt collection.
Empathy Quotient: The platform uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to streamline the whole process by automating several repetitive functions in the debt collection industry. The use of AI enhances scalability from a collection standpoint and also improves borrowers’ experience with an empathy quotient.
“It is likely that people in this industry may act rudely to extract money from the borrowers even after being taught to be polite. With AI we are making the process of collection empathetic,” says Goel.
Spike in NPA Numbers: Goel, however, warns that the NPA numbers in 2022 vis-à-vis 2021 would be higher as certain regulatory provisions such as restructuring of debt and waiving off loans were misused by multiple lenders. These numbers would be unveiled in 2022 and will indicate a spike in NPA numbers despite returning to normalcy.
He believes that forums like BW Businessworld’s Young Entrepreneur Awards encourage young entrepreneurs to strive for more and give exposure to their innovative ideas. He adds that due to such initiatives, investors are chasing founders and not the other way round, which used to be the trend a few years back.
