Esme Loans getting data warehouse courtesy of Microsoft
Lendtech Esme Loans has enlisted Microsoft to build a new cloud-based data warehouse, to make better targeted lending decisions and to provide automated service assisted by artificial intelligence (AI).
Microsoft will start building the data warehouse in April
The bespoke data warehouse by Microsoft will be a centralised data repository held on an online server – which is hoped it will allow Esme to improve its customer journey, simplify integration with third parties, and provide a faster end to end application process for customers.
Esme will also use the technology to build an AI assisted chatbot on its website, helping answer common customer queries and assist with the application process at critical points.
“Microsoft technology is helping Esme make quicker and smarter decisions to ensure that UK business are given the funds they need to grow and thrive,” says Wayne Bartlett, head of UK banking at Microsoft. “By automating processes and applying artificial intelligence it means that Esme can understand their customers better than ever before and will mean that more businesses get access to credit quicker, which in turn helps the overall economy.”
The new tech is following a proof of concept with a number of providers in late 2018. The project is expected to start in April this year.
Esme Loans, launched two years ago by NatWest, is a digital lending platform that provides unsecured business loans between £10,000 – £150,000. It has approved over £59 million of lending to UK businesses since launch.
