Credit Underwriting

Goal:
Enable banks to move beyond point-in-time repayment checks to confidently assess whether a customer can sustain repayments across cycles, shocks, and obligations.

Why 12 months transaction history matters?​

Credit risk is cyclical, not monthly. A short data window distorts affordability and risk.​

1. Income cycles
   Bonuses, seasonal income (e.g. gig workers, SMEs) are critical to true repayment capacity

2. Annual obligations
   Insurance, taxes, renewals materially impact affordability

3. Seasonal spending patterns
   Raya, CNY, Deepavali, school reopening periods reflect real financial stress points

4. Prevents account grooming
   Reduces risk of short-term behaviour manipulation

5. Alignment with CCRIS
   Ensures consistency with established 12-month repayment benchmarks

With 12 months, banks assess true affordability, income resilience, and behavioural stability.
Shorter windows risk overestimating repayment capacity.

What 12 months enables?

1. True Affordability & DSR Assessment

   • Captures both steady obligations and annual spikes

   • Enables realistic Debt Service Ratio (DSR), not a “best-case window”

2. Income Stability & Resilience

   • Identifies salary consistency, bonus reliance, seasonal income

   • Distinguishes sustained SME cash flow vs temporary spikes

3. Behaviour Under Stress

   • Shows how users manage high-spend periods

   • Identifies recovery patterns vs delinquency risk

4. Alignment with Regulatory Benchmarks

   • Mirrors CCRIS structure → improves trust and adoption

5. Forward-Looking Risk Models

   • Enables predictive modelling using seasonality and behaviour trends

Personal Finance Management (PFM)

Goal:
Enable banks to move beyond historical spend tracking to helping users plan, prepare, and optimise across life cycles and financial goals.

Why 12 months transaction history matters?​

Financial behaviour follows annual cycles, not monthly snapshots.

• Festive and seasonal spending (Raya, CNY, Deepavali, school reopening)

• Bonus and irregular income patterns

• Annual commitments (insurance, tax, subscriptions)

Without a full-year view, insights are incomplete and often misleading.

​

What 12 months enables?​

1. Seasonality-Aware Budgeting​

   • Anticipates recurring spending spikes

   • Enables proactive savings nudges

   • Example:
     “Your spending increases before CNY — start RM400/month from November”

2. Retirement Planning​

   • Links current behaviour to future needs

   • Bridges gap between lifestyle and EPF projections

   • Example: “Over the last 12 months, you spent ~RM800/month on essentials like food and utilities. If you maintain this lifestyle, you’d need at least RM2,500/month after retirement. Based on your EPF balance and contribution rate, you’re on track for RM1,800/month. Let’s start topping up RM200/month to close the gap.”​

3. Bonus & Seasonal income planning​

   • Optimises allocation of irregular income

   • Supports gig workers, SMEs, seasonal earners

4. Annual Obligation Management

   • Identifies recurring yearly commitments

   • Enables pre-emptive budgeting

   • Examples:

     • “Insurance premium due in April → set aside RM250/month from January”

     • “Membership renewal in October → start RM200/month from July”

• Annual Obligations (Insurance, Tax, Fees, subscription & membership Renewal)​

  1. Detects recurring annual obligations such as insurance premiums, tax payments, memberships, and subscriptions.​

  2. Provides proactive nudges to help users budget in advance and avoid missed payments.​

  3. Supports tax preparation by highlighting transaction categories relevant to annual filings.​

  4. Example:​

     1. “We noticed your insurance premium is due every April. Starting January, we’ll set aside RM250 each month so you’re fully prepared.”​

     2. “Every October you renew your golf club membership — we’ll earmark RM200 monthly from July so you don’t feel the pinch.”​​

Segments That Will Value This

Gig Economy & Informal Income Workers Ride hailing drivers, food delivery riders, freelancers, small online sellers

Gig Economy & Informal Income Workers Ride hailing drivers, food delivery riders, freelancers, small online sellers
Open Open	Why They Care Income is irregular & seasonal Often rejected for loans due to lack of traditional payslips Why 12 months matters Shows true earning capacity over time Captures peak periods (festive, promotions, campaigns) Reduces bias from “quiet months”   👉 Impact: Unlocks access to credit previously denied (penetration into potentially underserved segment).

SMEs & Microbusiness Owners Hawkers, home-based businesses, traders, service providers

SMEs & Microbusiness Owners Hawkers, home-based businesses, traders, service providers
Open Open	Why They Care Cash flow is lumpy and cyclical Revenue spikes during festive or seasonal demand Why 12 months matters Differentiates sustainable business vs temporary spikes Captures true operating cycle 👉 Impact: Better SME financing approvals. Short windows of transaction history would misclassify viable businesses as risky.

Salaried Middle Class with Complex Financial Lives Dual-income households, young professionals, urban families

Salaried Middle Class with Complex Financial Lives Dual-income households, young professionals, urban families
Open Open	Why They Care Multiple commitments: loans, insurance, kids, lifestyle Expenses fluctuate across the year Why 12 months matters Reflects real affordability after all obligations Prevents over-lending based on “good months” 👉 Impact: More responsible lending + fewer debt traps. This protects both lenders/institutions and the customer.

Thin-File / New-to-Credit Individuals Young adults, fresh grads, first-time borrowers

Thin-File / New-to-Credit Individuals Young adults, fresh grads, first-time borrowers
Open Open	Why They Care Limited credit history (low CCRIS visibility) Often invisible to traditional scoring Why 12 months matters Uses transaction behaviour as alternative credit signal Builds early financial identity 👉 Impact: Expands access to first credit products and grows future customer base.

Financially Vulnerable / Lower-Income Segments (B40) Cash-constrained households, irregular earners

Financially Vulnerable / Lower-Income Segments (B40) Cash-constrained households, irregular earners
Open Open	Why They Care Highly sensitive to seasonal shocks Often misjudged as high risk Why 12 months matters Shows resilience patterns (how they recover, not just struggle) Enables more lower value, inclusive underwriting 👉 Impact: Supports financial inclusion agenda (BNM priority) and aligns with national mandate.