London, United Kingdom (January 21, 2020) – An industry-first smartphone-based equipment finance solution that can initiate and complete loans of up to $5 million in minutes has been launched.
QuickFi® has been developed by US-based Innovation Finance, which was started by chief executive officer Bill Verhelle, the former CEO and co-founder of First American Equipment Finance and a former chairman of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.
Its digital-first approach led to QuickFi receiving the FinTech Innovator of the Year Award at the International Asset Finance Network awards ceremony in London in December 2019 and also receiving the PowerUP London Fintech of the Year trophy.
Verhelle said: “This is a totally different approach to equipment finance. The transparency is different, the speed is different, and the user experience is different.
“There is a shift to mobile technologies within business, so finance companies need to reflect that change. It is possible to complete deals entirely on a mobile device in minutes compared to weeks for traditional finance.”
— Bill Verhelle, CEO at Innovation Finance
QuickFi combines a wealth of technology in its proprietary systems and makes maximum use of digital devices to implement facial recognition, while artificial intelligence automates the loan process for creditworthy customers.
The self-service solution works on Android and iOS devices, allowing QuickFi users to upload invoices via the mobile app and electronically sign digital applications for finance ranging from $5,000 to $5 million.
There are no loan fees or charges relating to documentation, while the QuickFi app is free to download and use.
Impact of digitalization
The impact of digitalization on business was highlighted as a key concern among industry leaders attending the World Economic Forum at Davos last year.
In a survey launched ahead of the event in Switzerland, consultancy PwC revealed the results of its global CEO survey, which showed 85% of business leaders believe AI will significantly change the way they do business in the next five years.
Nearly two-thirds of global CEOs see it as a bigger force for change than the internet.
The potential benefits of successfully developing a fully digital infrastructure are vast, as it could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to PwC.
Bob Moritz, PwC global chairman, said: “To help unlock internal growth potential in their organisations, chief executives are paying close attention to emerging digital technologies such as AI.
“People are the main success factor in digital transformation projects, but to move beyond successful implementation to true innovation, business leaders should continue to upskill their current and future workforce as well as cultivate soft skills such as creativity, problem solving and empathy in their corporate cultures.”
Written by John Maslen, Asset Finance International
Asset Finance International is the leading Asset Finance and Leasing website reaching over 26,000 leasing professionals worldwide with news and research for the leasing industry.
Asset Finance International also runs The Asset Finance Technology Council, the European forum for senior technologists from leading asset finance organizations.The Asset Finance Technology Council aims to improve the use of technology in the asset finance industry by providing critical insight and know-how for its members, objective and authoritative research and briefing papers for practitioners, and user feedback to technology providers seeking to enhance their products and services.
