WO2006079151A2

WO2006079151A2 - Loan suitability assessment

Info

Publication number: WO2006079151A2
Application number: PCT/AU2005/001626
Authority: WO
Inventors: Graham Robert Reibelt
Original assignee: Kiosk Unit Co Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-10-20
Filing date: 2005-10-20
Publication date: 2006-08-03
Also published as: WO2006079151A3

Abstract

A loan suitability assessment machine located (10) in a publicly accessible place. The machine (10) comprising a datastore to store information relating to loan requirements of a lender, a display means (12) to display a series of questions to a user (16); and an input means (12) to accept input from the user (16) in response to the questions. The machine (10) operates in response to the answers to provide an indication whether or not the user (16) satisfies the requirements of the lender. The invention provides a publicly accessible means by which potential loan applicants can readily obtain an initial determination of whether they would meet the requirements for a loan without the need to consult any person, or visit a lender or broker.

Description

Title

LOAN SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT

Technical Field The invention concerns a machine and method for the assessment of a person's suitability for a financial loan. The invention also concerns a method of operating a loan suitability assessment machine and a computer program to operate a loan suitability assessment machine.

Background Art

People often obtain loans in order to make a large purchase, refinance previous loans, consolidate debts and start new commercial ventures. Ih the process of selecting a loan a person will apply for one or more loans so as to ascertain whether they are suitable for the loan, that is whether they meet a lender's loan requirements. The person is also likely to conduct research into the features of different loans in order to identify the most suitable loan for their needs.

Disclosure of Invention

A loan suitability assessment machine located in a publicly accessible place, the machine comprising: a datastore to store information relating to loan requirements of a lender-; a display means to display a series of questions to a user; and an input means to accept input from the user in response to the questions; wherein the machine operates in response to the answers to provide an indication whether or not the user satisfies the requirements of the lender.

The invention provides a publicly accessible means by which potential loan applicants can readily obtain an initial determination of whether they would meet the requirements for a loan from a lender without the need to consult any person, or visit a lender or broker.

The datastore may store information relating to plural lenders loan requirements and the machine may operate to provide an indication whether or not the user satisfies the requirements of any of the plural lenders. The display means may operate to display a request for the user to enter their contact details and the input means accepts input of contact details from the user in response to the request. In this way the machine operates as generate sale leads that the lender can follow up with the aim of making a sale.

The loan suitability assessment machine may be arranged in a manner similar to an Automatic Transaction Machine (ATM). The suitability assessment machine may be constructed to stand alone, such as in a shopping mall or a bank foyer. Alternatively the loan suitability assessment machine may be fitted into a shop front.

Each question displayed to the user may be a multiple choice question. The number of questions displayed to the user may be approximately eight or any number of questions where input from the user can be accepted within about a minute so that an assessment can be produced in about a minute. A small number of questions helps to keep the time that it takes for the user to obtain an indication to a minimum.

The display and input means may be a monitor.

The loan suitability^' assessment machine may further comprise a printer. The indication may be communicated to the user by the display means. The indication may also be communicated to the user by printing it on paper. The printed paper may include the details of the features of the suitable loan and/or the user's answers to the questions.

The loan suitability assessment machine may be connected to the Internet. The. datastore may be remote to the display means, such as on a further computer also connected to the Internet. If the machine determines that the user satisfies the requirements of any of the plural lenders, the user may then apply for the loan by filling in an application using the loan suitability assessment machine and submitting the application to the lender using the Internet connection.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of using a loan suitability assessment machine as described above, the method comprising the steps of: initiating a session with the loan assessment machine; and . inputting a response to each of the displayed questions. In yet a further aspect, the invention provides a method of operating a loan suitability assessment machine as described above, the method comprising the steps of: displaying a series of questions to a user on the display means; and accepting input from the user in response, to the questions using the input means; providing an indication whether or not the user satisfies the requirements of the lender.

In another aspect, invention provides a computer program to operate a loan suitability assessment machine as described above. The computer program may be installed on an automatic transmission machine. The computer program may be a script.

Brief Description of Drawings

Examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the loan suitability assessment machine;

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method of using the loan suitability machine; Figs. 3(a) to (n) are a series of screens displayed by the loan suitability assessment machine; and

Fig. 4 is a template of a report that is printed by the loan suitability assessment machine.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Fig. 1 shows a loan suitability assessment machine (LSAM) 10 that is located in a publicly accessible place, such as a shopping centre or a bank foyer. The LSAM 10 is stand alone in structure and has an appearance similar to an Automatic Transaction Machine (ATM) such as an outer casing 12, or it could be incorporated into a shop front (not shown).

The LSAM 10 comprises a display means 12, that also acts as a touch screen. The LSAM 10 also comprises a processor and a datastore. The processor is hidden from the user 16 and is fully contained within the casing 12. The processor has stored on it a database of a plurality of lender's requirements to a range of loans and details on their features. Also, a series of questions to be presented to the user 16 on the monitor 14 is also stored on the datastore. A printer is also fully contained within the casing 12 and is connected to the processor. The casing 12 contains a slot 18 through which indications printed by the printer can exit the casing 12 to be received by the user 16. Alternatively, the LSAM 10 may not have a printer in which case the indication would only be presented on the screen.

The casing 12 may be adorned with advertising material, such as a poster 20 and pamphlets for various loans. Alternatively, if the LSAM 10 only stores details of only one lender's loans, advertising material for only that lender. The casing 12 may also be designed with a ledge 22 where users 16 can conveniently place any belongings, such as shopping bags, in order to free their hands to use the touch screen 14. Alternatively, input may be entered by the user using a pointer device such as a mouse, or a keyboard (not shown).

Referring to Figs. 2 and Figs. 3(a) to (m), a method of using the LSAM 10 will now be described. A user 16 locates 30 LSAM 10. A welcome screen as shown in Fig. 3 (a) is displayed on the monitor 14. Next, the user 16 initiates 32 their session by touching the monitor 14 screen in the indicated area.

The user 16 is then presented 34 with a series of questions such as the screen shots shown in Figs. 3(b) to (i). Each question is a multiple choice question that seeks to profile the user 16. The number of questions presented to the user 16 is kept to a number that will ensure that the time taken to obtain an indication of a suitable loan from the LSAM 10 is short, such as a minute.

Based on the answers provided by the user 16, a profile of the user 16 is established 36. The processor then operates to compare the established profile to the stored information of the plurality of lender's loan requirements to indicate which loans the user is suitable for, that is, they meet the requirements of. The processor may determine that the user 16 is suitable for more than one loan.

If a match cannot be found, this is communicated 38 to the user by displaying a screen shown at Fig. 3(j). This display invites the user to attempt to create an alternate profile or to contact the lender or a broker.

If a match is found, this is communicated 40 to the user 16 by displaying the screen shown at Fig. 3(k). This display congratulates the user 16, and provides them with contact details for the lender or broker. The screen may also include a print button details about their enquiry. This may comprise details of each loan that they are suitable for or an indication of the number of loans that the user is suitable for. A template of the print out is shown in Fig. 4. The user 16 is then presented with a thank you screen as shown in Fig. 3(m).

Further, the display requests the user 16 to enter in their contact details. These details are then stored by the LSAM 10 in a separate database. In this way the LSAM 10 also operates as a lead creation machine. This database of user's details is a valuable list of people's names that are potential clients of a lender each is a sales lead. The lender can then contact these users of which they have the contact information of to attempt to sell them a loan. Otherwise, based on the entered information the lender may chose not to contact the user 16.

Of course, any loan suitability indication that the LSAM 10 provides is subject to the lender's final assessment of the user's true profile, such as their real ability to service the loan.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described.

The LSAM may be connected to the Internet. In this case, the datastore could be remote to the LSAM, and the LSAM uses the Internet connection to access the data on the datastore. Further, the user may elect to proceed with a formal application for the loan once they have been found suitable for a loan. This application would then be communicated to the lender. The user is more likely to complete the formal application as they have already been advised that they are suitable for the loan and it can be completed efficiently and immediately. To accommodate this, the LSAM may also include a keyboard. The keyboard may be positioned on the ledge 22 of the LSAM.

Alternatively, using the Internet connection the lead creation machine could send to the lender the details of the users at regular intervals, such as at the end of the day. Various other screens may be presented to the user. Such as Fig. 3(n) that informs the user that they have answered questions that would require a loan whose requirements are not stored on the machine.

The series of questions that are presented to the user may depend on the answer of a previous question.

The report printed by the printer may not include the details of the loan that has been found suitable for the user.

The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A loan suitability assessment machine located in a publicly accessible place, the ^• machine comprising: a datastore to store information relating to loan requirements of a lender; a display means to display a series of questions to a user; and an input means to accept input from the user in response to the questions; wherein the machine operates in response to the answers to provide an indication whether or not the user satisfies the requirements of the lender.

2. A loan suitability assessment machine according to claim 1, wherein the datastore stores information relating to plural lenders loan requirements and the machine operates to provide an indication whether or not the user satisfies the requirements of any of the plural lenders.

3. A loan suitability assessment machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display means operates to display a request for the user to enter their contact details and the input means accepts input of contact details from the user in response to the request.

,

4. A loan suitability assessment machine according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the loan suitability assessment machine is arranged in a manner similar to an Automatic Transaction Machine (ATM).

5. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the suitability assessment machine is constructed to stand alone.

6. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each question displayed to the user is a multiple choice question.

7. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the number of questions displayed to the user is the number of questions where input from the user can be accepted within approximately a minute, such as eight questions.

8. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the display means and input means is a monitor.

9. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the loan suitability assessment machine further comprises a printer to print on paper an indication communicated to the user which includes features of the suitable loan and/or the user's answers to the questions.

10. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the loan suitability assessment machine is connected to the Internet.

11. A loan suitability assessment machine according to claim 9, wherein the datastore is remote to the display means, and the data store is accessed by the loan suitability assessment machine using the Internet.

12. A loan suitability assessment machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein if the machine determines that the user satisfies the requirements of the lender the display means operates to display a loan application form to the user, the input means operates to accept input from the user in response to the loan application form which is then stored on the datastore.

13. A loan suitability assessment machine according to claim 3 or claim 12, wherein the loan suitability assessment machine is connected to the Internet and the machine operates to send input accepted from the user to the lender using the Internet connection.

14. A method of using a loan suitability assessment machine of any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of: initiating a session with the loan assessment machine; and inputting a response to each of the displayed questions.

15. A method of operating a loan suitability assessment machine of any one of claims 1 to 13, the method comprising the steps of: displaying a series of questions to a user on the display means; and accepting input from the user in response to the questions using the input means; providing an indication whether or not the user satisfies the requirements of the lender.

16. A computer program to operate a loan suitability assessment machine in accordance with claim 15.

17. A computer program to operate a loan suitability assessment machine in accordance with claim 16, wherein the loan suitability assessment machine is an automatic transmission machine.

18. A computer program according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the computer application is a script.