Esme Loans has enlisted Microsoft to build a new cloud based data warehouse, enabling faster and better targeted lending decisions and automated service assisted by artificial intelligence (AI).

Microsoft has entered into partnership with the digital lender to build a bespoke data warehouse - a centralised data repository held on an online server - which will help improve the customer journey, simplify integration with third parties and provide a faster application process.

Esme will also use the technology to build an AI-assisted chat bot on its website, helping answer common customer queries and assist with the application process at critical points.

Following a proof of concept with a number of providers in late 2018, Esme Loans has begun work with the US tech giant to introduce the new technology in April this year.

The partnership is the latest signal of strategic intent from Esme Loans since its launch two years ago. The digital lending platform - that provides unsecured business loans between £10,000 - £150,000 - grew nearly three times in size between 2017 and 2018, and has approved over £59 million of lending to UK businesses since launch.

Chief executive and co-founder Richard Kerton commented: “This partnership with Microsoft as their technology can help us support increased numbers of SME customers with a simpler end to end lending process, and also provide us with a greater understanding of our customers’ needs.”

Wayne Bartlett, head of UK banking at Microsoft, said: “By automating processes and applying artificial intelligence it means that Esme can understand their customers better than ever before and will mean that more businesses get access to credit quicker, which in turn helps the overall economy.”

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