You know how sometimes you need that one friend who knows everyone and can introduce you to the right people at the right time?
OCEN, short for Open Credit Enablement Network, is like that super-connector friend, but for the financial world. It's making sure that people who need loans can easily meet up with those who want to give loans. Let's dive into what OCEN is, why it's a big deal, and how it's already making waves.
What is OCEN?
Think of OCEN as a digital marketplace, a bustling bazaar where buyers and sellers meet, but for loans.
It's a set of digital tools that helps lenders and borrowers find each other more easily. Developed by the tech-savvy folks at iSPIRT, OCEN is designed to make loans more accessible to everyone. The features that make OCEN a promising revolution - One Language for All
OCEN is a set of digital handshakes that allows different financial systems to understand each other. It uses something called APIs, which are like the grammar rules of a language. Just as you need to know grammar to build a sentence, these APIs help financial systems "speak" to each other in a way they both understand. This means banks and other lenders can talk to each other and share information without any hiccups.
Quick and Easy When you apply for a loan, the process can be painfully slow. With OCEN, it's supersonic. The system quickly matches borrowers with lenders who are interested in giving loans to profiles like theirs. This speeds up the whole loan approval process, making it more efficient.
Inclusivity
OCEN is designed to be inclusive. That means new banks, microfinance institutions, and even digital lending platforms can join this network easily, making the network stronger and more versatile with each new member.
By the book
In any financial transaction, safety and compliance with the law are paramount. OCEN is built to align with India's financial regulations.
A real revolution would require making credit available to the smallest businesses, organizations, and individuals, and it would be the cornerstone of the next phase of this digital revolution of a new and booming India. And that is precisely what OCEN seeks to, and is poised to achieve.
To really understand the disparity in credit access, let us take a look at some numbers. Out of over 64 million MSMEs (Medium and Small Enterprises) in India, only 14% have access to credit.
There’s a massive demand for debt, out of which 45% was met by private banks followed by 43% by public banks and 12 per cent by NBFCs “even as the share of NBFCs has been increasing over the years.”
What's New and Cool about OCEN?
Sahay Loan Engine: This platform leverages OCEN's APIs to create a more streamlined and efficient lending process. Sahay acts as an intelligent intermediary, analyzing borrower data and matching it with the most suitable lenders. The Sahay Loan Engine has several key features:
Automated Risk Assessment: It uses algorithms to assess the credit risk of borrowers, making the approval process faster and more accurate.
Multi-Lender Platform: Sahay allows borrowers to access multiple lenders at once, providing them with a variety of loan options to choose from.
Real-Time Tracking: Borrowers can track the status of their loan application in real-time, eliminating the uncertainty that often accompanies traditional lending processes.
High-Profile Partnerships:
OCEN has successfully partnered with leading financial institutions like HDFC and ICICI. These partnerships are crucial for expanding OCEN's reach and capabilities.
HDFC's partnership with OCEN aims to simplify and expedite the home loan process for borrowers. With a strong focus on business loans, ICICI's collaboration with OCEN is designed to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing quicker loan approvals and lower interest rates.
Government Endorsement:
Government backing provides a level of trust and legitimacy that is crucial for any financial network. The government sees OCEN as aligned with its broader financial inclusion goals, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which aims to bring banking services to the unbanked population.
Why Should You Care about OCEN?
OCEN can help even the little guy get a loan. It's like opening up a treasure chest of financial opportunities for everyone, not just the well-connected.
Small businesses can get the funds they need to grow, hire more people, and contribute to the economy. It's like adding fuel to India's economic engine.
Because OCEN is open to everyone, it encourages new ideas and services to sprout up, making the financial landscape more exciting and diverse. So there you have it! OCEN isn't just a buzzword or a complex piece of financial technology. It is setting the stage for a more financially inclusive India. It definitely needs to go through its iterative journey over the years to marvel as a financial tool. While OCEN keeps at it, we at Rang De continue to connect rural entrepreneurs, farmers and artisans to accessible credit - fueling dreams and leveling the financial playing field through our RBI-regulated peer to peer lending platform. Related articles -
We have written a piece on another fascinating digital architecture called the ‘open banking’ that is working wonders in the fintech domain. For more updates, subscribe to our blog. If you would like to give social investing a go, visit rangde.in to invest in fellow Indians and get repaid with interest.