Microfinance lending software: full specification
Everything a microfinance company needs to run small loans online, with field officers and in branches.
- 78
- features
- 10
- sections
- 37+
- ready integrations listed
1. Application
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Application form | Web form for the borrower's personal and contact details, responsive on any device. Fields, steps and wording are set per loan product. |
| 1.2 | Product parameters from outside | The form accepts amount, term and product passed from your website, an app or a partner link. |
| 1.3 | Configurable question set | Personal details, ID document, address, employment and income, consents: you choose what to ask and in which order. |
| 1.4 | Sign-up with a national digital ID | Where the market has one, borrowers sign up with a government digital ID instead of typing their details. |
| 1.5 | Phone and email checks | One-time codes confirm that the borrower owns the phone number and email they entered. |
| 1.6 | Address check | Addresses are checked against postal or national address data as the borrower types. |
| 1.7 | Behaviour data | Device, time on each step and corrections are saved and can be used in scoring and fraud rules. |
| 1.8 | Web analytics | Connect analytics tools to follow the funnel step by step.Google AnalyticsSegment |
| 1.9 | Saved drafts | Every completed step is saved, so a borrower can come back and finish later; reminders go out automatically. |
| 1.10 | Lead providers and partners | Applications from lead providers and partner sites, with status updates sent back to them: approved, declined, under review. |
| 1.11 | Field officer mode | Officers fill in applications on a tablet in the field, also offline; data syncs when the connection is back. |
| 1.12 | Group loans | Applications for a group of borrowers with shared guarantees. |
2. Partner API
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Applications by API | Partners send applications through a JSON API: borrower details, loan amount and term, and consents. |
| 2.2 | Duplicate check by API | Check whether a phone number or ID document is already in the system before an application is created. |
| 2.3 | Messages by API | Send a text message or email to a borrower through the connected provider.TwilioSendGridWhatsApp Business |
| 2.4 | Portal sign-in by API | Sign borrowers in to their portal from your own app. |
| 2.5 | Webhooks | Your systems get events for new applications, decisions, payouts, payments and status changes. |
3. Borrower portal
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Sign-in and password recovery | Sign-in by phone and password or one-time code, with a limit on attempts and recovery by SMS. |
| 3.2 | History | Current and past loans, applications, payments and signed documents in one place. |
| 3.3 | Repeat loan | Repeat borrowers apply in a few taps; their details are already filled in. |
| 3.4 | Documents | Agreements, schedules, extension terms and receipts are generated for each loan and signed in the portal.PandaDocOne-time SMS code |
| 3.5 | Payments in the portal | Pay the next instalment or the whole loan by card, bank transfer or wallet. |
| 3.6 | Early and partial repayment | The schedule and the amount due are recalculated right away. |
| 3.7 | Notifications | SMS, email, push and WhatsApp messages from a ready set of templates.TwilioSendGridWhatsApp Business |
| 3.8 | Hints and banners | Tips and offers inside the portal, shown by segment. |
| 3.9 | Extensions | Borrowers extend a loan in the portal and sign the new terms. |
| 3.10 | Overpayment balance | Overpaid amounts are kept on the borrower's balance and used for the next payment. |
| 3.11 | Add-on services | Insurance or other partner services, paid at once or added to the loan. |
4. Payouts
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Bank transfer | Loan payouts to the borrower's bank account through the connected rails.VoPayWiseVoltForm3VolanteThreddPaymentology |
| 4.2 | Instant payments | Payouts in seconds over local instant payment schemes where they exist. |
| 4.3 | Card payouts | Money goes straight to the borrower's debit card.ThreddPaymentologySquare |
| 4.4 | Mobile wallets and cash | Payouts to mobile wallets or for cash pick-up at agents and branches. |
| 4.5 | Account and card check | A small test charge or open banking check confirms the account belongs to the borrower.PlaidFlinksillionSalt Edge |
| 4.6 | Failed payout handling | A failed payout is retried or sent through another channel, and staff get a task. |
5. Repayments
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Card payments | One-off and saved-card payments.ThreddPaymentologySquare |
| 5.2 | Direct debit and auto-pay | Payments are collected automatically on each due date.GoCardlessVoPay |
| 5.3 | Bank transfer | Incoming transfers are matched to loans by reference or account. |
| 5.4 | Instant payments and wallets | Repayment through local instant payment schemes and mobile wallets.GoCardlessVoPaySquareVoltWise |
| 5.5 | Cash | Payments at branches, agents and partner stores. |
| 5.6 | Payment routing | Route card payments between processors by card type, amount or success rate. |
| 5.7 | Reconciliation | Bank and processor statements are loaded daily and compared with payments; differences go to review. |
| 5.8 | Weekly field collections | Officers record cash collected at group meetings; receipts go to borrowers by SMS. |
6. Data sources and integrations
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Credit bureaus | Pull credit reports and scores, and report loan data back to the bureaus on a schedule.ExperianEquifaxTransUnionCreditinfo |
| 6.2 | Identity and liveness | ID document check, selfie and liveness test.JumioOndato |
| 6.3 | Open banking | Income, spending and account ownership from the borrower's bank data, with consent.PlaidFlinksillionSalt Edge |
| 6.4 | Sanctions and PEP screening | Checks at onboarding and again on a schedule you set.OFACUNEUUK HMTPEP lists |
| 6.5 | Fraud signals | Device, email, phone and behaviour checks feed your fraud rules. |
| 6.6 | Your own scoring | Ready connection to your in-house or third-party scoring models. |
| 6.7 | Other data sources | Any provider can be added through the API; 1,700+ connectors are ready in 172 markets. |
| 6.8 | Mobile and wallet data | Phone age and wallet activity for borrowers with little credit history. |
7. Settings
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Products | Create microfinance products with amounts, terms, schedules, fees and penalties in the admin panel. Existing loans keep their terms. |
| 7.2 | Decision strategy | Rules, scorecards and limits in a visual editor, with versions and test runs. |
| 7.3 | Reference lists | Edit reference lists such as branches, reasons and document types. |
| 7.4 | Message templates | Edit every SMS, email and portal message, in several languages. |
| 7.5 | Verification questions | Set the questions verifiers ask, per product. |
| 7.6 | Loyalty and promo codes | Points for on-time payments, levels and promo codes. |
| 7.7 | Users | Create staff users and give them roles. |
| 7.8 | Weekly and seasonal schedules | Schedules that follow harvest seasons or weekly group meetings. |
8. Back office
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | Client and loan view | Staff see applications, loans, payments and borrowers, limited by their role. |
| 8.2 | Edit borrower data | Change details entered by the borrower or staff; every change is logged. |
| 8.3 | Applications by staff | Create an application from the back office, for example at a branch or over the phone. |
| 8.4 | Tasks and queues | Underwriter decisions, verification questions, payment errors and collection calls land in queues by role. |
| 8.5 | Decision override | An authorised person can change an automatic decision, with the reason saved. |
| 8.6 | Status changes | Cancel, freeze or close a loan, for example on a dispute or a court case. |
| 8.7 | Collections | Soft and hard collection queues, collector and supervisor workspaces, hand-over lists for agencies. |
| 8.8 | Messages | Send SMS and email to one borrower or a segment.TwilioSendGridWhatsApp Business |
| 8.9 | Local time | Staff see the borrower's local time before calling. |
| 8.10 | Blocklist | Block a borrower's portal or add them to an internal blocklist. |
| 8.11 | Reports | Standard management reports and statistics. |
| 8.12 | Roles and permissions | Roles with field-level access, a four-eyes rule for sensitive actions and an audit log. |
| 8.13 | Branch and officer view | Portfolio quality by branch and officer, including PAR30 and PAR90. |
9. Accounting and analytics
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | Accounting | Entries for every operation go to your general ledger.QuickBooksXeroNetSuite |
| 9.2 | Regulatory reporting | Data for regulator reports in your market's format. |
| 9.3 | BI and data warehouse | Documented database and exports to your BI tools.Power BITableauLooker |
10. Other
| No. | Feature | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 10.1 | Data migration | Move clients, active loans and payment history from your current system; every balance is checked after the move. |
| 10.2 | Blocklist without a profile | Block a phone, ID or device even if the person has never applied. |
| 10.3 | Declined traffic | Send declined applicants to partner lenders automatically, if you choose to. |
| 10.4 | Deployment | Our cloud, your private cloud or your own servers, with the same features everywhere. |
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