Alternative credit scoring combines ERP sales data and growth index

Credit loan for individual business owners to be offered via Toss digital channel

Jeju Bank President Lee Hee-su (left) and Toss Deputy CEO Kim Gyu-ha pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony held at Arc Place in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Shinhan Financial Group]
Jeju Bank President Lee Hee-su (left) and Toss Deputy CEO Kim Gyu-ha pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony held at Arc Place in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Shinhan Financial Group]

Jeju Bank announced Thursday it will launch a credit loan for individual business owners in partnership with Toss, incorporating sales data and growth potential into the assessment. The initiative aims to improve small-business owners' access to financing by using alternative data to supplement conventional credit evaluations.

Jeju Bank signed a strategic business partnership MOU with Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, on Wednesday, covering inclusive finance products for individual business owners.

The two companies plan to roll out inclusive finance products targeting individual business owners, introduce alternative credit scoring in stages, and run joint marketing campaigns for small businesses. They will combine their respective digital channels and data, with specific initiatives to be finalized through working-level consultations.

The first product under the partnership, the "Growth Index (SCB) Inclusive Finance 2.0 Business Owner Credit Loan," launches Thursday. It combines Jeju Bank's enterprise resource planning (ERP) data-based alternative credit scoring model — in operation since March — with the growth index introduced by the Financial Services Commission this year. Individual business owners nationwide can apply through Toss's digital channel.

Loan assessments will draw on ERP sales data from Techfin Ratings, a joint venture of Douzone Bizon and Shinhan Bank. On top of the declared sales data that banks have traditionally relied on, the product factors in near-real-time business activity trends and evaluates small-business owners' growth potential from multiple angles.

The aim is to broaden the basis for lending decisions beyond historical sales performance to include recent business momentum and future growth prospects.

"Reducing the financial difficulties that individual business owners and small merchants face in running their businesses is a key goal of this partnership," Toss Deputy CEO Kim Gyu-ha said. "We will continue driving financial innovation together with Jeju Bank, leveraging Toss's digital channels and technology."

Jeju Bank President Lee Hee-su described the deal as "a starting point for cooperation to deliver real financial convenience to small-business owners by combining Jeju Bank's financial capabilities with Toss's digital competitiveness," adding that the bank intends to "forge a new model of success in practicing inclusive finance as a regional bank."


forest@heraldcorp.com