Fiji Development Bank rolls out AI tool to speed up loan approvals

Fiji Development Bank’s (FDB) new artificial intelligence (AI) credit assessment tool will dramatically reduce loan processing times, potentially transforming how thousands of Fijians access finance.

FDB chief executive officer Filimone Waqabaca said the bank had received extensive feedback about slow turnaround times, and the AI tool launched today aimed to address this critical issue.

“We have received a lot of feedback about our turnaround time, so we hope that this will help,” Mr Waqabaca said at the launch at FDB’s Suva headquarters.

“For our customers, this means shortened turnaround times, better communication, and a simpler process for assessing credit.”

The 12-month pilot programme will initially serve existing FDB customers through the bank's mobile app and web platform, assessing unsecured loans up to $10,000 and secured loans up to $100,000.

Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel said the initiative would help capable Fijians who faced barriers accessing credit due to lack of traditional documentation.

“For too long, many capable and hardworking Fijians have faced barriers to credit, not because of lack of potential, but because of lack of data or traditional collection,” Mr Immanuel said.

“This AI-driven credit assessment platform changes that.”

ThirdRoc director Shivnil Maharaj, whose Melbourne-based company developed the technology, said the system would help banks make decisions “in days, not in weeks” by analysing real-life data including sales, WhatsApp, and Viber information.

The tool combines customer inputs with existing bank data to provide preliminary assessments while maintaining human oversight for final lending decisions.

Mr Waqabaca said phase two would expand the service to new customers across Fiji once the pilot successfully refined backroom processes and gathered sufficient data.

The initiative aligns with Fiji's National Development Plan and Digital Strategy 2025-2030, with support from Australia's Market Development Facility.

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