IN DIGITAL lending, faster decisions are increasingly expected. But speed alone does not make a credit model better.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2025 Consumer Finance and Inclusion Survey, 31% of Filipino borrowers cite fast loan processing and approval as their top consideration when taking a loan.
For lenders, delivering that speed is more complicated than simply collecting more information.
Skyro, an SEC-registered fintech company, says its approach is built around a different question: which data actually improves a credit decision? The company uses a combination of traditional and alternative data sources, verification tools, behavioral analytics, and automated fraud monitoring to assess applications. According to Skyro, this approach has contributed to an up to 10% improvement in portfolio profitability while helping the company make faster, more informed credit decisions without compromising verification and risk controls.
For Emmanuel Ebuen, Skyro Head of Risk Portfolio Management, the value of alternative data lies not only in volume but more in how each source performs. “There are a lot of alternative data providers in the market for telco, credit bureaus, transactions, and more. For each of them, we test to learn which ones are most effective and economically efficient,” Ebuen said.
That distinction matters in markets where a borrower’s traditional financial footprint may be limited and where data quality can vary significantly across providers.
More data adds value when weighed carefully
Traditional credit assessment often relies on information from banks, credit cards, and previous loans. That can leave lenders with less information when evaluating first-time borrowers or people with little to no formal credit history.
Alternative data can add more signals to that assessment, but Skyro does not treat every source as equally useful. Instead, the company evaluates data sources based on their reliability and predictive value, then combines those signals with other information available during the application process.
“Having more alternative sources adds more dimensions to how well we understand our clients. It makes decisions fairer,” Ebuen said.
For Skyro, this means alternative data is not intended to replace traditional credit evaluation. Rather, it supplements conventional information, particularly when that information alone does not provide a complete picture of the customer.
Making credit decisions fast without compromising care
Customers expect a quick response, but speed cannot come at the expense of careful assessment. For Serhii Shelest, Skyro Deputy Head of Risk, making credit decisions quickly means having the right verification and fraud controls working together throughout the process.
“Skyro combines several layers of verification and analytics to make fast credit decisions while keeping risks under control,” Shelest explained.
Its verification framework includes eKYC, or electronic Know-Your-Customer, document checks, liveness detection, face matching, and forgery detection.
Customer information is also checked against internal and external data sources. Skyro uses behavioral analytics, device signals, and environmental data to identify potential inconsistencies or suspicious activity.
Automated fraud and risk monitoring also runs throughout the application process. “The goal is not only to speed up approval times, but also to maintain verification quality and fraud prevention standards,” Shelest said.
For Skyro, the objective is not simply to make decisions faster, but to make them fast and carefully, using multiple layers of data, verification, and risk assessment to support each decision.
The bigger challenge is fragmented data
While alternative data creates more possibilities for credit assessment, Ebuen points to one structural issue that continues to affect lenders in emerging markets: fragmentation.
“The biggest challenge is data fragmentation. In many emerging markets, information is spread across different providers, and the quality and availability of data can vary significantly,” he said.
That fragmentation creates practical challenges. Data may not always be updated at the same speed. Integration between different providers and market participants can be limited. Some data services are expensive. Lenders also need to balance the amount of information they collect against data privacy requirements and customer experience.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply obtaining more data. It is determining which information is reliable enough and useful enough to influence a decision.
Skyro addresses this through a risk-based approach. The company prioritizes sources according to reliability and predictive value, while the level of verification can vary depending on the customer profile, product type, application quality, and risk signals detected during the process.
“If we identify inconsistencies or missing information, we may apply additional verification checks, request supplementary data, or use alternative data points to support the assessment,” Ebuen said. “The idea is to balance risk control with a smooth customer experience.”
Fraud detection is becoming part of credit decisioning itself
The same data used to understand legitimate customers can also help lenders identify activity that may signal fraud. For Shelest, this is where verification and antifraud become an integral part of the credit decisioning process.
“Some of the most common fraud cases in digital lending include identity theft, the use of mule accounts, synthetic identities, and multiple coordinated applications,” Shelest said.
As part of its antifraud framework, Skyro uses an Early Warning System (EWS) to analyze multiple risk signals and identify suspicious patterns. According to the company, the EWS flags about one in four fraud cases at an early stage, helping Skyro stop fraud before losses occur or minimize their impact.
The EWS is one part of a wider monitoring framework. Skyro also analyzes documentation verification results, customer and device behavior, duplicate patterns, risk indicators from internal and external sources, and anomalies that appear throughout the credit application journey.
The result is a credit decisioning process in which fraud detection, customer verification, and risk assessment are increasingly interconnected rather than treated as separate steps.
The next advantage may come from using data better
As digital lending continues to develop, the competitive advantage may increasingly come from how well lenders interpret the information already available to them.
For Skyro, that means continuously testing which data sources improve decision-making, adapting verification based on risk, and refining fraud controls as new patterns emerge. “At the end of the day, we want all Filipinos to have a fair chance at accessing financial services. Our technologies are constantly being upgraded to ensure the safety and convenience of both our current and future customers,” Ebuen said.
The bigger shift is not simply toward more alternative data, but toward more intelligent credit decisioning. For lenders like Skyro, the advantage lies in knowing which signals are meaningful, how to combine them, and when additional verification is necessary. In a market where financial data can be fragmented and traditional credit histories incomplete, that capability can determine whether faster lending also becomes more accurate, secure, and scalable.
The future of digital lending will not be won by the lender with the most data. It will be won by those who know how to use the right data, at the right moment, to make better decisions.
