In this edition of FinScore Answers Questions (FAQ), Mr. Christo Georgiev, FinScore Country Manager and Chief Strategic Officer, answers the FAQ of the week based on the trends on consumer behavior that the FinScore’s team of Big Data experts have observed based on telco data.
To fully appreciate our insights about changes in consumer behavior caused by COVID-19, it is important to have a quick overview of the types of data or behavior typically captured on a mobile operator’s network.
While the availability of these vary from market to market and is largely dependent on existing data privacy laws, they typically fall under these categories:
It’s important to keep in mind that more than 90% of the market in developing countries are prepaid subscribers and some (such as the Philippines) do not have existing legal KYC / registration requirements when buying a new prepaid card.
One can easily make the connection in how the patterns, revealed by combining the data types abovementioned with powerful Machine Learning & Neural Network algorithms and reviewed by world-class Big Data experts can be extremely useful in combating fraud and assessing borrower’s profile and behavior.
While there are strict limitations on the type of information that can be disclosed publicly, there are several interesting trends we are about to share:
#1
The number of loan applications has severely declined during the Extended Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the Philippines
A large percentage of lenders in the Philippines rely on brick-and-mortar, retail, branch and/or agent banking channels.
The ones that don’t typically offer non-collateralized loans and are particularly vulnerable to macro-events, affecting the disposable income of their target borrowers.
#2
Larger percentage of Subscribers are spending less money on load top-ups, while mobile data usage is increasing, compared to pre-COVID 19
A trend towards more efficient use of existing telco packages and bundles is evident – as telco subscribers expect a certain reduction in their disposable income, they typically start utilizing or maximizing plans and bundles that give them the highest amount of megabytes (MBs) available.
Several promos by leading operators in the Philippines have certainly played a role by making more data promos available at the same cost during the crisis.
About the Author
Christo Georgiev
Country Manager and Chief Strategic Officer, FinScore
Christo is an experienced digital entrepreneur and operations executive. He has a special affinity towards digital payments, assets and currencies. Prior to joining FinScore, Christo was in charge of operations across several verticals in the i-Gaming industry both in Philippines and internationally.
About FinScore
FinScore is an alternative credit scoring company that offers a powerful credit scoring platform and fraud detection tool based on alternative data, including telco-based data. As the pioneer in lending and scoring of the unbanked in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, they continuously empower banks, financial institutions, and credit bureaus with flexible platforms to help them make insightful and reliable credit decisions.
For more information about FinScore, visit www.finscore.ph and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for the latest updates.
