The launch of Appro, a fintech firm that digitises, automates, and simplifies the user journey for retail banking, was announced by SC Ventures. The bank-agnostic platform, which is supported by SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment, and ventures arm, aims to cut the time required to complete application processes for retail banking products, like credit cards and personal loans, from several hours to just three minutes.
With just one application to fill out for each product, Appro’s technology substantially streamlines the application and onboarding process for clients. Each customer’s application must collect the necessary background data and preferences, and these data points are then securely shared with all participating banks, enabling them to qualify consumers and then offer the most appropriate products for each of them. The platform then compiles the top product options for each client and rates them using a special algorithm based on the preferences the consumer has stated. This makes decision-making easier as well as more informed and intelligent.
The pre-processed applications for each qualifying consumer are sent to the participating banks at the same time. These applications have previously been through all essential Know Your Customer, Customer Due Diligence, Credit Worthiness Assessments, and Fraud Checks.
Iftekhar Salim, Tarek Osman, and Antofelix Rajan, three employees who had previously worked as retail bankers at Standard Chartered, came up with the concept for Appro after observing the difficulties customers frequently encountered during the drawn-out and onerous onboarding process for retail banking products in the UAE. After that, SC Ventures fostered fintech and made three early-stage investments.
Iftekhar Salim, CEO of Appro, stated that the company’s mission is to “bridge the gap between clients seeking for the best bargains in town and banks’ deliberate attempts to be positioned as a superior service provider.”
“In 2019, SC Ventures helped us design our initial solution to this problem, and as a result, we were able to cut the turnaround time for issuing mortgage pre-approval letters from six days to only 45 minutes. Our number of mortgage bookings increased noticeably, which proved the market’s hunger, something we had previously only inferred. It motivated us to look into further products we could develop to better meet the demands of banks and clients in the retail banking sector.”
“At SC Ventures, we are focused on finding answers to problems we uncover in the market and will service clients in the manner they want and need to be served,” said Alex Manson, Head of SC Ventures.
The platform developed by Appro is a terrific example of one such answer that resulted from a customer-focused strategy to significantly reduce friction in the onboarding process.
With applications for credit cards and personal loans, Appro’s platform debuts in the UAE. In 2023, it plans to broaden its selection to include mortgage and auto (vehicle) loans, as well as current and savings accounts, and wealth management products.
Additionally, it will provide banks the opportunity to integrate Appro into their current websites and/or apps to rapidly handle self-generated leads. Following markets in the Asia Pacific, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia, and India, the fintech intends to expand throughout the greater Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
What began as a concept in 2020 and took little over a year to build is now ready to enter the market with four collaborating banks, according to Mohamed Abdel Razek, a member of the Appro Board of Directors and Chief Technology & Operations Officer, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered. We are thrilled to have been able to watch the construction firsthand.
