7 Things Lenders Should Look for in a Decisioning Engine Platform

Decision Engine Platform

The lending landscape is changing. Borrowers expect an instant, digital experience, the competition is becoming more sophisticated, and existing software is limiting necessary innovation.

These are challenges for any lender who wants to optimize the entire credit lifecycle, but there’s a solution. Every lender can benefit from an agile decision engine solution that leverages data and analytics for efficient and compliant decision making.

Decision engine software for a seamless borrowing experience

Today’s borrowers — no matter what type of credit they’re seeking  — want a straightforward, fast, and personalised lending experience, and many lenders desire the same because it can improve their portfolio. However, legacy systems and infrastructure often hinder a lender’s ability to provide a seamless digital borrowing experience.

An article by American Banker highlights this roadblock, but also offers a solution: Updated decision engines and models. By using digital-first business models akin to Amazon, the publication sees the future of lending as being completely web-based. Partners, customers, and lenders can effortlessly connect when needed through application programming interfaces for an experience unlike any they could receive in a brick-and-mortar location.

Of course, to get to this state, a lender must reevaluate their internal processes and often change them to incorporate automation and more data. Perhaps even more importantly, modern systems must work in real-time to continuously monitor risk and portfolios while delivering personalized marketing to borrowers. This is where decision engine software comes into play. By reducing reliance on IT professionals, business users can rapidly test and deploy risk strategies on their own. Aided by an engine equipped with automated decision making, lenders can process hundreds of digital loan applications daily while managing risk in real-time.

7 things you need in a credit decisioning engine

Like any technology, not all decision engine software is created equal. Financial institutions need a unique solution that fits their workflows and industry standards.

Here are must-haves for decision engine software:

1. Speed

The biggest benefit of investing in a decision engine is the ability to monitor applicants’ credit risk in real-time. However, it’s not just the end product that should be quick. When choosing a credit decision engine, you should see how quickly it can be implemented, tested, and deployed. Furthermore, you will want to know how fast the engine can adjust to credit policy changes.

2. Scalability

You understand just how quickly the lending landscape changes. From lulls in borrowing and sudden spikes due to economic conditions and trends, you need an engine that can easily adjust to the ebbs and flows of the business. This is why it’s important to ensure the solution you invest in is scalable. A decision engine that can accommodate more applications, different credit policy changes and changing internal workflows is essential as your business grows.

3. Analytic capabilities

Lenders don’t just need a vendor of decision engine software, they need a partner. You should look for a credit risk management provider that is an extension of your team for your analytics strategy. The balance highlights how many lenders use analytics to help manage risk, streamline loan approvals, and improve their target marketing. In today’s environment, lenders need to be nimble and constantly evaluate their performance, analytics can help.

Of course, analytic capabilities are of little help without the right data. Make sure your partner uses multiple, integrated data sources to ensure you are leveraging the correct data to make solid lending decisions.

4. Configurability

There are no one-size-fits-all credit decisioning solutions. Each financial institution has its own processes and rules in place determined by existing portfolios and market conditions. Added to that are national credit policies that regularly change and which lenders must adhere to. You need a tool that can adapt to your unique processes and be changed to accommodate different lending verticals and rules.

5. User experience

Transitioning to a new decision engine software should be easy. Every day it may take to train teams and upload data is time you could be expanding your portfolio and gaining new, trustworthy borrowers. A new solution should be straightforward so business users can be trained quickly and begin improving their processes. Further down the road, users should be able to teach other employees about the solution and continue to make customisations that support their workflows.

6. Security

Borrowers are trusting you with their personal financial information when applying for a loan. Lenders are held to high standards to protect this data, and the solutions they use must be secure. Look for a decision engine tool with a proven track record when it comes to security and stability, as this will give your borrowers peace of mind throughout the entire application process and beyond.

7. Support

Finally, you want a solution that offers support. While decision engine software should be user friendly, it doesn’t mean you won’t run into roadblocks along the way. You should be focusing your resources on implementing better policies, not meticulously managing data sources. A trusted lending solutions partner will support you with white-glove service to ensure you’re getting the most from your credit decisioning engine.

The ideal decision engine software exists

You may think that finding decision engine software with all of these characteristics is impossible, but that’s exactly what GDS Link offers. Financial institutions and private lenders of all sizes can benefit from a solution that gives them the power of instant, digital application experiences the modern borrower expects. By integrating data sources from credit reporting agencies, internal systems, alternative means, and more, you can ensure your lending decisions are based on the big picture.

This solution provides everything lenders have come to expect from an analytics and advisory expert like GDS Link. From a tried and trusted premier solution that supports all of your lending needs and can be easily configured when you need it the most, GDS Link understands that to grow your portfolio in the modern lending landscape you need the right decision engine software.

Get more qualified leads, make faster decisions, and improve your business with GDS Link.

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