The financial institution, based in São Paulo, aims to create a safe and simplified origination process to reduce bureaucracy while keeping up safety. To that end, the bank acquired FICO® Origination Manager and FICO® Application Fraud Manager to manage credit operations and reinforce fraud prevention.

“Our customer contact is 100% digital,” said Alexandre Pinelli, Banco Original’s IT Superintendent. “We require solutions and technologies that allow us to assess a customer’s profile in our digital process so that we may take the right decisions as fast as possible.”

Launched in 2016, Banco Original was formed to meet the needs of digital consumers who are looking for reduced bureaucracy, increased agility and personalised services. In just two years, the bank attracted more than 600,000 customers. It has a net worth of BRL 2.2 billion, with BRL 8.8 billion in assets and a credit portfolio of BRL 5 billion.

“We believe that we offer the most comprehensive service portfolio among digital banks” said Pinelli. “We offer checking accounts, cards, loans, investments, insurance and pension plans. We have a very clear roadmap of the development of our products and services.”

100% Digital

“The challenge of a digital bank goes far beyond offering an online channel that allows clients to open accounts or perform banking transactions,” Pinelli said. “This environment needs to be entirely digital. That’s why we’ve developed an efficient account opening process that features the highest possible number of automated decisions.”

When originating an account, Banco Original’s systems capture all the information sent by customers, as well as external data such as data from credit bureaus. All this information is processed by FICO decision engines in real time.

Choosing FICO was a decision that was very carefully made by the bank. It conducted RFPs, proofs of concept and pilot tests, assessing multiple suppliers over five months.

“During the entire deployment stage, FICO demonstrated a very high level of expertise. They were very flexible and adapted perfectly to our lean schedule and to changes in scope, timing and performance. FICO proved to be a true strategic partner,” said Pinelli.

The results include efficient, fast operations and a very low fraud rate, as well as credit-granting options that meet both the bank’s scope and customers’ profiles. A recent study by JP Morgan Chase described Banco Original as the most agile digital bank in Brazil for opening a checking account and delivering a credit card.

The bank’s next steps in technology are aimed at improving processes using artificial intelligence, neural networks and machine learning, among other technologies.

“Banco Original’s success shows what can be done when we approach issues from a fresh perspective,” says Ricardo Cheida de Oliveira, FICO’s country manager in Brazil. “We are very proud to actively participate in this digital operation, from its concept to its deployment and to daily operations. This is an exceptional model of digital banking for the sector at a global level.”