Accelerating Lending to MSMEs: Harnessing Bank Statements and GST Data through Anumati
Updated on Aug 3, 2023
We are delighted to announce that the GSTN has officially joined the Account Aggregator network as a FIP. MSMEs can now use Anumati to securely and instantly share their GSTR1 GSTR3B returns with regulated entities such as lenders with a few clicks.
MSMEs play a vital role in the Indian economy, accounting for over 49% of the country’s GDP. However, MSMEs often face challenges in accessing credit, due to a lack of collateral and formal financial records. Traditional lending institutions often hesitate to extend credit to these businesses due to limited financial data and lack of collateral.
Now, using Anumati, a combination of bank statements and Goods and Services Tax (GST) data offers a promising solution to this problem. In this blog post, we will explore how these tools can be effectively harnessed to accelerate lending to MSMEs.
Anumati: Empowering MSMEs
Anumati allows individuals and sole proprietors to securely aggregate their financial information from various sources into a single repository. Anumati serves as a consent manager, allowing secure sharing of data between the financial information providers (banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, GSTN, etc.) and the authorized financial information users (lenders, financial institutions, etc.).
Benefits of Utilizing Bank Statements
Bank statements provide a comprehensive view of an MSME’s financial health. By analyzing bank statements, lenders can gain insights into a business’s income, expenditure patterns, cash flow, and overall financial stability. In the past, manual scrutiny of bank statements was time-consuming and prone to errors. Anumati automates this process, enabling lenders to access standardized and structured data, thereby reducing the time and effort required for credit evaluation.
Leveraging GST Data for Enhanced Credit Assessment
GST data provides valuable information regarding the business’s sales, purchases, taxes paid, and tax compliance. This data offers lenders an additional layer of visibility into the MSME’s financial performance, enabling more accurate credit assessments.
Accelerating Lending by integrating bank statements and GST data
The integration of bank statements and GST data within the account aggregator framework streamlines the lending process for MSMEs. By granting lenders access to this data, MSMEs eliminate the need for extensive documentation and manual verification, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming. This integration allows lenders to make faster credit decisions based on reliable, up-to-date financial information, leading to a significant reduction in loan processing times.
Improved Credit Scoring and Risk Assessment
The availability of comprehensive financial data through the Anumati enables lenders to develop more sophisticated credit scoring models. By leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, lenders can accurately assess the creditworthiness of MSMEs. This enhances the accuracy of risk assessment, allowing lenders to differentiate between low-risk and high-risk borrowers more effectively.
Financial Inclusion and Access to Credit
Anumati allows lenders to easily cross-verify bank statements and GST data, and empowers MSMEs by providing them with a fair and transparent credit evaluation process. By leveraging these tools, lenders can extend credit to MSMEs that were previously underserved or excluded from the formal lending system. This drives financial inclusion and enables MSMEs to access the capital they need to grow, expand operations, and contribute to the overall economic development.
Limitations
Currently, only those MSMEs who operate bank accounts as a sole proprietor can use the account aggregator framework to access their bank statements. While we work on enabling access to joint / partnership accounts, we believe that a majority of the credit-underserved MSMEs are sole proprietors who can start using Anumati right away.
Conclusion
The account aggregator framework, along with the integration of bank statements and GST data, presents a game-changing solution for accelerating lending to MSMEs. By automating the credit evaluation process and providing lenders with a comprehensive view of an MSME’s financial health, this framework enhances the efficiency and accuracy of credit assessments. As more financial institutions adopt the account aggregator framework, we can expect a significant boost in lending to MSMEs, driving economic growth, and fostering financial inclusion.
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