In this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sat down with Michael Nyaga, the Regional Consultant for East and Southern Africa at Creditinfo Kenya, to unpack a career that has mirrored the digital evolution of credit in Kenya — from manual loan approvals to fully automated, AI-powered decisioning.

Our conversation coincided with the launch of Creditinfo’s new Identity | KYC | Fraud platform, with Kenya as the first market globally to roll it out. Michael, who joined Creditinfo after senior roles at Equity Bank Group and I&M Bank, brought a deeply grounded yet forward-thinking perspective to the discussion.

From Manual to Mobile: A Personal Evolution in Credit

Michael’s journey began as a teller in rural Kenya and eventually led him to spearhead some of the most transformative lending innovations in the region — from digitizing ATM-based credit access in the pre-M-PESA era to launching mobile-first lending platforms for MSMEs. His insights stem not just from building lending products, but also from navigating the realities of financial access in high-volume, low-margin environments.

What stands out in his narrative is the shift from product-based lending to lifestyle-integrated finance — where Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), embedded credit, and instant approvals are fast becoming the norm in Kenya’s mobile-centric ecosystem.

Solving for Thin-File Customers with Data & Empathy

A major theme of our discussion was financial inclusion — especially how to serve the gig economy, smallholder farmers, and informal MSMEs. Michael explained how combining psychometric scoring with alternative data sources (like mobile money transactions, SMS metadata, and even satellite imagery) creates a fuller, more accurate picture of creditworthiness.

He emphasized that behavioral data and financial literacy are just as important as income verification, particularly when onboarding users who are “thin-file” or unbanked.

This is where Creditinfo’s new eKYC platform shines: It creates a unified, real-time risk and identity profile through a single API, reducing fraud, increasing confidence in onboarding, and eliminating the need for cumbersome multi-step verification.

Creditinfo’s New KYC Proposition

Michael framed the eKYC launch not just as a new product, but as a paradigm shift. Traditional lenders have often relied on rule-based decisioning, but Creditinfo’s approach uses aggregated data intelligence to detect inconsistencies, flag potential fraud, and improve loan performance — all at the point of onboarding.

The goal is to safeguard lenders while making it easier for quality customers to access credit. Whether it’s a digital lender struggling with high non-performing loans (NPLs) or a retail bank looking to reduce onboarding friction, the eKYC solution is designed to bring compliance, speed, and trust into a single customer experience.

Looking Ahead: Embedded Credit & Intelligent Lending

As we wrapped up, Michael painted a vision of digital lending as a lifestyle. He described a future where credit is invisible, intelligent, and embedded across everyday experiences — from agricultural supply chains to online retail to vehicle purchases.

In his view, the convergence of AI, blockchain, and embedded finance will redefine how banks, fintechs, and retailers collaborate to deliver credit. But the core idea remains human: building trust, reducing exclusion, and designing credit journeys that meet people where they are.

Learn more about Creditinfo’s new eKYC solution by visiting ⁠https://shorturl.at/TcVkJ

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