Festina Advisor Helps 100-year-old business to Enter the Digital Age
They say that old habits die hard, but after six months of implementation, Festina Advisor has helped to transform Denmark’s Civil Servants' Loan Association (Tjenestemændenes Låneforening) from an analogue to a digital-first and paperless loan provider.
The Civil Servants' Loan Association has been the go-to provider of loans for Denmark’s civil servants since it was set in 1907.
But in June 2020, the Danish Government introduced stricter affordability rules for consumer loans, which forced the company to replace its traditional practices with digital solutions.
The new affordability rules limit the maximum amount that someone can borrow each year based on their income and also cap interest rates and associated fees.
“Although we have always strived to prevent reckless lending, the new rules affect how we manage credit ratings and the type of information we need to collect from applicants”, says Kim Østerbye, executive director at the Civil Servants’ Loan Association.
Photo: Kim Østerbye - Director at Civil Servants’ Loan Association
The organisation approached different system providers to weigh up the different types of digital solutions available to help it assess the affordability for customers looking for a loan.
“We were looking for a product that would make borrowers feel safe, even though they have to provide more information than they used to. We chose Festina Advisor because it is innovative, intuitive, safe, and easy-to-use,” he says.
Festina Advisor uses a combination of public and private data to help consumers manage their household economy and assets and can be configured to provide advice for most financial services products.
Over the last 9 years, usage of the Festina Advisor system has spread rapidly within major financial services firms as a means to empower customers to take control of their finances or as an aid to advisers.
The Paperless Office
In addition to ensuring the Civil Servants’ Loan Association complies with the Government’s new affordability rules, Festina Advisor has also helped it to transform into a paperless organisation.
This is better for the environment, more sustainable, and requires fewer human resources to handle administration.
And despite the scale of change for its customers, going from using an analogue service to a modern digital platform, the Civil Servants’ Loan Association has received fewer user support inquiries than expected.
This is testament to Festina Advisor’s success and the seamless process it can provide.