David van Damme – unlocking the potential of digital lending in Central Europe
In a recent interview, we sat down with David van Damme, our new Banking & Lending Director for the Netherlands and DACH region at Tink. Read on for his insights on these innovative markets, why they’re different and how digitalisation is changing the lending landscape.
David van Damme oversees Tink’s sales and relationships with banking and lending institutions in the Dutch, German, Austrian, and Swiss markets.
He is participating in a Bitkom panel on data revolution and new hope, where he will talk about how to unlock data for the benefit of lenders and borrowers, and how to use alternative data points for credit decisions.
David is excited to see the evolution of the banking landscape and the role that Tink and Visa can play in it. Each bank needs to think about how they want to evolve and what role they want to play in the future, whether it is to offer daily transactions, financial coaching, carbon footprint tracking, or other services.
David, who has been with Tink for almost three years, is based in Amsterdam and Frankfurt and oversees our relationships with banking and lending institutions in the Dutch, German, Austrian, and Swiss markets. His team helps to provide many different solutions for partners, including those for data enrichment, digital lending, and consumer experience.
"In the Dutch market, we do a lot with data enrichment that can really help banks improve their offering to consumers – like recognising recurring expenses or the ability to see what you'd have left to spend at the end of each month, as well as helping people make better decisions about their finances and even their carbon footprint. In Germany, we're one of the leading players in digital lending, helping lenders and consumers have insights into their spending habits to determine their suitability for loans. Lending is becoming more inclusive and more robust thanks to these advancements."
No one-size-fits-all approach
So, when it comes to our approach in these individual markets, there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution?
"No, absolutely not," says David. "In the Netherlands I would say the financial landscape has been pretty innovative for a few years now. There are banks like ABN, ING, and Rabobank that are all doing progressive things in their own right. And then you have Dutch payment service providers (PSPs) – like our partner Adyen – whose leading platform competes with many other European players in the market. That’s why I sometimes hear the term ‘Silicon Valley of payments’ coined for Amsterdam.
"Germany is obviously a large market with different types of financial institutions and a diverse set of challenges for a third-party provider (TPP) like Tink to help solve. Our products can help in areas like digital lending, which is one segment experiencing growth in the region. And it feels like we're just at the beginning of this rise, which makes it exciting for us to support on this journey and improve decision-making for both lenders and consumers."
A new era for creditworthiness
Speaking of lending in Germany, David is appearing on a panel at the upcoming Bitkom Digital Finance Conference in Berlin, exploring the data revolution in lending and a new era for creditworthiness.
"I’m really looking forward to the event, it’s a great panel on an important topic – how to unlock the potential of data-driven processes for both the lender and borrower. By using open banking and TPPs like Tink, decisions that used to take days or hours can be reduced to as little as minutes.
"That’s the first step, but another advantage of these methods is giving more people access to credit, creating a more inclusive financial system. For example, some people don't yet have a robust financial or credit history due to certain circumstances and our technology can help them secure the loans they need.
"One other thing it’s been great to see in Germany recently is certain providers offering incentives like better interest rates if consumers use modern data-driven application processes. And that makes sense – if the bank is saving time and money by reducing manual tasks then it’s great to see some of those savings passed on to the customer."
Keeping pace with technology
Lots of positives, then. But what are some of the challenges presented in these markets? One highlighted by David is how difficult it is for financial institutions to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology.
"A lot of banks, for example, are big companies that have been around for decades, even centuries, and they are regularly asking themselves ‘what role do we want to play now and in the future?’ And I think that is the part each bank needs to carefully consider and continue increasing investment in.
"People trust banks and lenders with their money, but how can they make it more inclusive, easier to understand, and ensure that people come back for more business? These are the kind of discussions we are part of and can help with."
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