Apnaloan offers SMS service to ease loan hunt

MUMBAI: Apnaloan.com has launched a service that promises to provide details on various loan or insurance offers within 60 seconds of receiving an SMS.

One just has to send “Loan” or “Insurance” as an SMS to the 8-digit number of Apnaloan.com “57575656”. Within seconds you would receive a confirmatory message, followed by a phone call providing details about the loan or insurance.

“Currently if one sends an SMS, there is no immediate follow up and the customer is left wanting for more information. When the SMS request is immediately followed up, the queries can be answered at the touch of a button. Also, within 60 seconds it is not likely that the customer would get busy with some other work, which happens when the call is given a couple of days later,” said Harsh Vardhan Roongta, chief executive office of Apnaloan.com Services.

The Apnaloan representative will ask you a few quick questions and, based on this profile, you would be provided with the best loan or insurance options. The results would include not just financers and insurance providers but also details of agents or direct sales agencies.

If a financer or an insurance company has a tie-up with Apnaloan, like HDFC Bank and BHW already have, you can also be on a conference call with the bank officials.

“We are now aggressively going to approach other banks and financial services providers,” said Roongta. This Smart SMS facility, as it is called, is available for free.

However, the loan or insurance cannot be purchased via this phone call. The bank or insurance companies would have to follow up with the person requesting the service.

For the internet savvy, there is more to Smart SMS. Post the phone call, you could also get an email suggesting negotiating tips or other details about the loan or insurance, which might be too verbose for a phone call.

“The facility was on a pilot run in Bangalore and is now available across the country,” said Hemang Desai, co-founder and chief technology officer. “In future we intend to provide the technology platform via a license to the companies giving loans and providing insurance,” added Desai.

d_khyati@dnaindia.net