Alessandro Ceschel, CEO of Plazo, takes part at Innovation Finance Congress

On the 28th of April, Alessandro Ceschel, CEO of Plazo, took part at a panel about Lending, Finance and Crowdfunding at Teatro Goya of Madrid within the frame of the Innovation Finance Congress, together with Jaime Rentero, Commercial Director of PECUNPAY, Kristoffer Hanson, CEO of PRESTALO and Ricardo Catalán Montero, Co-founder and CEO of LENDISMART. José María Baños, CEO of Letslaw, moderated the panel addressing the great opportunities alternative finance is generating in the Spanish market, thus attracting a significative amount of investment. As José María Baños highlighted, alternative B2B and B2C lending has achieved a market share of almost 20%.

Expectations of younger generations

In this context, one topic discussed were the specific demand of younger customers, in reference to the cashless generations, that don’t see added value in traditional credit cards, subject of obligations and commissions. In this regard, Alessandro Ceschel, said that this segment, including population of between 20 and over 40 years, “fears to lose control over its finance and knows that dealing with the debt of a credit card is not that flexible”.

However, financing needs are always the same. “The need to access credit, to defer payments is always there”, he stressed. “What changes is the way people ask for credit”. Key is to know that this type of customer wants “to have it all in one single platform and to have the possibility to access credit just when needed, that is, they are not seeking a 100% revolving product”.

Fully digital customer relations

Another relevant characteristic of this target is that “this type of client doesn’t visit anymore physical banking offices. They operate digitally, and the way they access credit is also online”. Thus, they demand speed, simplicity, accessibility and flexibility. “And as well 24/7 customer support via through different channels. This is something banks are struggling with”, he added.

So, one of the great achievements of digitalization in the finance sector is that it has shortened distances between financial entities and clients, that’s why “strong structures are not necessary anymore to reach out to the final customer”.