Home Credit India (HCIN), a local arm of the international consumer finance provider, today released its first sustainability country map, codifying ESG principles across the business. The document defines key pillars of sustainability such as financial inclusion or inclusive lending, financial literacy, digital empowerment and sustainable communities, which together help HCIN as a responsible lender to serve customers, communities and all stakeholders.
HCIN has been working to enable credit penetration in India since entering the local market in 2012. Since then, the focus has been on responsible provision of reliable financial products and services to the underserved population, while promoting financial and digital literacy to promote responsible borrowing. culture in society at large. The map of the country is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: no poverty, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, gender equality, good health and well-being.
Elaborating on the first Sustainability Country Card, Mr. Ondrej Kubik, Chairman and CEO of Home Credit India said, “For us, ESG or sustainability has always meant the way of doing and operating a business that creates value for all stakeholders. Sustainability is in our DNA. With the goal of empowering people to live the life they want now, financial inclusion or inclusive lending and financial literacy is a foundation that can provide access to affordable credit to underserved communities and, to in turn, help them develop a positive credit history, which improves their access. to the formal financial system. Our pillars of sustainability along with building resilient communities are our way of contributing to nation building.
Continuing its customer-centric approach, HCIN has recently successfully embraced digital transformation and has rapidly expanded its digital presence and offerings since 2020, to establish an omnichannel connection with products and services. Today, HCIN customers and merchants/retail partners can offer seamless, paperless onboarding through the HCIN app or website. Half of HCIN’s customers now complete a full online journey, and metrics show those numbers are growing every day.
Key highlights from the 2021 report at a glance:
Borrowers served
> 65% increase in the number of borrowers served – from 8.5 million in 2018 to 14.2 million in 2021
Serving the underserved
40% of Home Credit customers were first-time borrowers
financial literacy
3 million people benefited from HCIN (Paise ki Paathshala) financial education initiative and social media engagements in 2021
Digital loan
Growth from 2% in 2018 to 30% in 2021 (% of personal loans via digital channels)
Zero interest
45% of our consumer loans are at 0% interest, thanks to partnerships with merchants and manufacturers
PoS Touchpoints
50,000+ point-of-sale touchpoints in 625 cities for customers
The Country Card is published alongside Home Credit Group‘s annual sustainability report – which is due to be published annually and has been prepared with reference to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, key industry benchmarks such as standards and practices for responsible liability. Inclusive finance by the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF), Principles for Responsible Banking by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) and Materiality Finder by the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB).