The challenge
A French multinational leader in distribution for the discount store segment, with a large customer base using loyalty points cards, wished to activate the financial side of the card. That is, provide its own credit card.
A very specific approach to evaluation was required for this goal, mainly due to two factors. Firstly, the customers were mostly housewives, which meant traditional risk models were not adequate, as their requests are rarely approved. Secondly, the complexity of capturing the information declared, which had to be done by the cashier.
The project
To overcome these difficulties, the required information was simplified to that most imperative to be effective. The premise was to have more limited data, but of s higher quality. This minimised the extra work required to formalise the card, reducing the daily pressure on the cashiers.
With regard to client details, the specific model developed by AIS was accompanied by a system of differentiated strategies for each segment. This consisted of granting credit gradually (weekly) for low amounts, of less than or equal to the usual credit card limit.
The result
The AIS model proved very effective from the beginning, so much so that the company intends to refine it further in the future, by integrating existing population changes into it after several years. The model is currently in place and fully operational.
In addition to offering credit through the card, a company innovation was to provide the ability to take out cash with the card during a purchase, as if it were a cash machine.
