The client
Founded in 1614, the Stadsbank van Lening (City Bank of Loans) is the oldest credit distributor in Amsterdam. Here, you can borrow money against collateral. The collateral and the loan sum are registered in the pawn system. It’s an important facility for Amsterdam’s underprivileged citizens – almost 10% of the city’s minimum-wage citizens uses it.
The challenge
The municipality of Amsterdam (owner of the Stadsbank van Lening) asked INFO to rebuild and optimise the pawn system that the Stadsbank van Lening had been using for over fifteen years. The main goal? To create more efficiency so that customers can be served faster. Additionally, from a social standpoint, it’s paramount that customers are able to repay their debts as fast as possible. To encourage this, the municipality also asked us to improve the existing online customer environment.
The solution
We analysed Stadsbank’s processes through employee shadowing and workshops, uncovering bottlenecks in the old system. We also used co-creating sessions with employees, to devise initial concepts for a new loan system that focused on employee efficiency for quicker customer service. We streamlined desk processes, merging workflows and granting employees instant access to crucial customer data. Close collaboration with Stadsbank experts ensured that the users got what they needed.
Additionally, we developed an online client portal, enabling customers to manage pawns and loans on their own, encouraging faster debt repayment.
