Question 1

What is First Access?

Accepted Answer

First Access is a software platform for digital transformation of credit and other financial services. We help lenders configure their unique credit underwriting, analysis, approval, and management processes. 
 
The platform is designed for extreme flexibility of data sources, enabling lenders to incorporate nearly any source of customer data via API or to collect it manually offline, which is especially relevant in emerging markets.
 
The First Access platform helps traditional lenders go digital and digital lenders grow more data-driven. Because of its flexibility, the platform can be used to accommodate a wide range of origination needs and nearly any combination of automation and human judgment for each step of a customer acquisition process.
 
It is used by commercial banks, digital lenders, asset financing companies, e-commerce companies, P2P lending platforms, microfinance institutions, financial cooperatives, and more.

Question 2

How can I try First Access?

Accepted Answer

It’s simple to get started. Click "Sign Up" at the top right of your screen. We can talk through your needs and create a proposal and pilot together to help you address them.

Question 3

What does it mean to be data-driven?

Accepted Answer

Every action yields data. To be data-driven is to collect that data, examine important patterns, and use it to inform better decisions about the future. Data-driven companies recognize the potential for constant improvement. They use their data to guide how they change over time.

Question 4

How easy is it to make changes to my custom account?

Accepted Answer

The First Access platform is designed to be affordable, easy to implement, and flexible. There are many changes you can already make yourself, including managing Users, Roles, and Branch locations. Changes to your digital credit policy (like which types of data to collect on customers, whether data should be required or optional, or adjusting your automated analysis and scoring) are made with the help of the First Access team, usually within a day or two depending on the complexity of your request. These requests can be made directly on the platform by clicking on the blue support button in the bottom right corner of your web application. 
 
We are already working hard on the design and development of updates to the platform that will allow you to do even more of the configuration changes yourself.

Question 5

Can my customers apply for loans directly through the First Access app?

Accepted Answer

There are two primary ways to use the First Access platform:
 
1. Customers apply for loans in person from traditional lenders whose staff or agents use the First Access mobile app to collect information at the point of sale. This is often the first step in the digital journey for traditional lenders who are migrating from paper. The First Access platform is available in web browsers and Android smartphones and tablets, enabling your staff to collect the right data on customers anywhere, even offline. 
 
2. Customers apply online via web using First Access, or for via their lender's mobile banking app, which can then push the customer data via API to manage their credit decisions on the First Access platform. Lenders also integrate data from other sources into their First Access accounts, incorporating a wider digital footprint, alternative data sources, and other external information into their credit decisions.

Question 6

Do I have to automate all my credit decisions to use the First Access platform?

Accepted Answer

No, the First Access platform allows you to choose the balance of human judgment and automation that's right for your customers and business. You can choose whether you want manual or automatic actions for data collection, data processing, and credit decisions. 
 
For example, if your initial touchpoint with customers happens through a loan officer or sales agent, they could collect customer information at the point of sale using our mobile app. If you reach customers through digital marketing or offer credit related to an existing e-commerce or payments platform, for example, you can push customer information to First Access via API.
 
Whether your data is automatically or manually captured, you may also choose whether to have humans review and approve it, and whether to have humans make the actual credit decisions. To automate these processes, you can provide your logic to First Access and we will help you embed it into your custom account. Please contact us to learn more.

Question 7

What is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?

Accepted Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS) is the model of subscribing to software and accessing it through the internet. The advantages of SaaS are plentiful. First, the setup costs are usually much lower than building software in-house or having a third party develop custom software for your company. Second, the software never goes out of date. SaaS platforms are constantly being updated with new features, and you are never stuck with last year’s model. Finally, SaaS is built to scale. Need to add more users or increase usage? No problem. SaaS platforms make it easy to increase capacity and facilitate fast growth without adding new hardware, for example.

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