Using Fresh Data to Make Real-time Decisions
By David Fisher, CEO
We hear the term “Big Data” a lot these days. It may be an overused term, but the incredible increase in the availability of data over the past ten years is unreal. Technology has enabled the collection of massive amounts of data from an ever-increasing list of sources, and people are trying to figure out how to extract meaningful value from these large, complex data sets. At Enova, we like to say that data is important but it is analytics that make the difference.
Enova has been mining and using big data to help people gain access to the credit they need since we began lending over a decade ago. Our analytics decision engine is composed of 100 different models built using 10 years of customer data, 1,000 data sources, and 10,000 data points, and it is continually fine-tuned by our 50+ person analytics team. Our advanced engine enables us to make automated decisions in real-time as well as adapt and adjust models to incorporate new data quickly and accurately.
There’s no time to waste while servicing our customers’ credit needs, and our real-time decisions create a favorable customer experience. For example, when customers apply for credit, they can receive an answer in in seconds – even though we are reviewing and analyzing thousands of data points. Traditional financial institutions often take hours or days to run similar analyses, meaning that applicants might have to wait and wonder about their eligibility for a loan.
Additionally, because we use the most current data available, we can make better credit decisions. By capturing an accurate picture of an applicant when they apply, we can recognize significant recent changes. Avoiding stale, outdated information allows us to make better decisions about to whom we provide credit and how much we provide.
Overall, our strategy continues to be “Customer First,” and we strive to provide the best customer experience and satisfaction. Real-time credit decisions and predictive analytics based on robust data enable us to do this. Our customers can be confident that we are using cutting edge techniques to examine their entire financial footprint and providing the best possible quality of service.