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HKMA launches new platform to help small businesses get cheaper bank loans by sharing their data with lenders
- The Commercial Data Interchange is one of the key initiatives under the de facto central bank’s ‘fintech 2025’ strategy
- It allows banks to access the information they need to determine the creditworthiness of SMEs via six data providers
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The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched an electronic platform designed to help small businesses get cheaper loans by sharing their operational data with banks.
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The Commercial Data Interchange is one of the key initiatives under the de facto central bank’s “fintech 2025” strategy for the next three years.
The platform, launched on Monday, allows the 23 banks that have joined the scheme to access the information they need to determine the creditworthiness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via six data providers.
“Today’s official launch is a milestone signifying a new era of data sharing,” said Howard Lee, deputy chief executive of the HKMA. “We believe CDI will become a key enabler for multilateral data sharing among banks and data providers, catalysing financial innovations.”
Many small companies find it difficult to get bank loans as they do not have collateral. The new platform will give lenders access to the operational data of the SMEs via reliable feeds, thereby allowing them to make a sound and fast decision, HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man told the Post last month.
Over the course of the pilot scheme launched in November last year, the CDI has registered about HK$1.6 billion (US$200 million) in approved loans for small companies.
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