Rubique’s Founder & CEO Manavjeet Singh, a first generation entrepreneur, tells SMEpost.com about how his team has automated the process for small industries to grow by turnaround of time involved. Edited excerpts of the exclusive conversation:
Q: Among all the financial portals, what makes Rubique stand out?
A: Since our inception we struggled to differentiate ourselves but slowly steadily, it has been getting recognized & that’s how we have almost 60+ Financial Institutions onboard. Here’s what we are unique & not mere online aggregator websites:
- A neutral platform where lender & borrowers can discover each other bringing transparency in the process
- Matchmaking algorithm & Fulfillment engine which offers faster access to credit along with certainty
- Wide range of products for individuals as well as small business owners which is not offered by any online model
- Multichannel distribution tapping every consumer segment be it digital savvy or traditional customers
Q: What gave birth to the idea of an online marketplace for financial products?
A: The current marketplace for financial products in India is still highly inefficient, time consuming & uncertain for customers as well as Banks. When customer requires a loan he can either approach a bank directly which proves to be time consuming or he can visit loan aggregator websites which bombard him with calls adding to his confusion. If he takes help of DSAs then they only do “Move application” job. In nutshell, the entire journey is challenging in terms of time & information.
Also due to varied risk appetite of the FIs, there is no certainty in the process. Today even FIs face a huge challenge of finding right fit of consumer profile & managing turnaround time. Hence the rejection rates are pretty high in the loan ecosystem. This is the biggest inefficiency of the market.
We know that for every borrower, there is lender willing to lend. However, the customer today has no sure shot way of finding that bank. And this is precisely we wanted to work on when we thought of idea of Rubique.
Q: Please give us a brief of your business model.
A: Rubique is an online marketplace for financial products offering a wide range of loan products and end- to-end loan fulfillment to individuals and MSMEs.
Rubique has introduced a tech-led lending solution which is unique in terms of its matchmaking algorithm and direct integration with Financial Institutions’ lending systems. With this technology solution, the model is focused on disbursement rather than mere lead generation allowing customer to get the best deal in the quickest possible time while lowering the cost for customer acquisition for the financial institution.
Q: How is Rubique helping SMEs in the lending space, given the current scenario of the sector?
A: We saw that SMEs face serious challenges in raising finance from banks and financial institutions and are left at the mercy of local unorganized financiers charging interest of anywhere from 2% pm and above. With our collective experience exceeding 500 man–years in Banking and Financial services realized the root cause for this problem faced by SMEs and the possible solution.
While banks can reach out to their consumers by opening branches, banks fall short of proving intermediation and transaction advisory services. Even the risk appetite of every bank varies which makes the entire process uncertain for SME in terms of approval. Rubique brings all these offers on one platform so there is more transparency. These offers are nothing but bank’s digitized policies so product like business loan, loan against property etc. can be assessed for eligibility on Rubique platform itself offering certainty in eligibility check.
In case of subjective assessment, we also support through our associates to advise businesses on how to borrow, from where to borrow by comparing potential options and helping the client on documentation.
Q: We understand Rubique is working with Financial Institutions to turn-around time involved in the lending process. Please throw some light on the steps being taken in this direction.
A: Yes, turnaround time has been challenge for Financial Institutions as well as customers as mentioned earlier. We believe that for every borrower, there is a lender but there is not platform where both of them can meet each other.
We have created a platform which digitized the bank’s policies so customer can check his eligibility online itself. In fact, for view Financial Institutions, we have done the system integrations with their system which offers the in-principal approval online which makes the entire process faster & certain for both customers as well as Financial Institutions.
Q: Is it true that you plan to venture into insurance segment? What would be in it for SMEs?
A: Yes, we would be entering into insurance. It would be premature to mention specific focus at this stage. But it would be our endeavor that we serve all our customers with their insurance needs.
Q: What are your expansion plans in near future and roadmap for 2017?
A: We strive to become the largest marketplace for loans & credit cards in near future. By next year, we plan to expand to four more cities & strengthen our presence across 10 cities. We will also be investing into the technology to keep sharpening our technology proposition to customers as well as FIs.