Common Questions
Answers about MSME credit underwriting, bank statement analysis, our platform, and the lending tools we offer.
What is Santulan AI?
Santulan AI is an AI-powered digital lending and credit analytics platform for Indian banks, NBFCs, and fintech companies. It provides automated bank statement analysis, MSME credit scoring, GST analytics, and loan origination software to help lenders underwrite MSME borrowers faster and more accurately.
How does bank statement analysis work for MSME loans?
Bank statement analysis extracts credit signals from a borrower's transaction history — cash inflows, outflows, bounce frequency, EMI regularity, and balance patterns. Santulan AI's engine processes raw statements to produce structured cashflow summaries, anomaly flags, and a credit risk score, enabling lenders to make decisions without relying solely on ITR or audited financials.
What is DSCR and why does it matter for MSME lending?
DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) measures whether a borrower's operating income is sufficient to cover its debt obligations. For MSMEs in India, lenders typically require a DSCR of 1.25x or above for loan approval. A DSCR below 1.0x means the business cannot cover its debt from operations — a direct default risk indicator.
What is working capital stress and how do lenders detect it early?
Working capital stress occurs when an MSME's cash conversion cycle extends faster than its collections can cover. Causes include delayed receivables, inventory build-up, or sudden inflow shocks. Lenders detect it early by tracking receivable days, payable days, and inventory days alongside live bank statement data — before it shows up in formal financials.
Can Santulan AI underwrite thin-file MSME borrowers?
Yes. Santulan AI uses alternative data — bank transaction behaviour, GST filing patterns, and payment history — to score MSME borrowers who have no or limited formal credit bureau records. This enables credit access for the large segment of Indian MSMEs that are underserved due to thin credit files.
How does Santulan AI integrate with existing LOS or core banking systems?
Santulan AI provides REST APIs that integrate with any loan origination system (LOS), core banking platform, or credit workflow tool. Lenders can embed credit scores, bank statement analysis reports, and underwriting decisioning into their existing workflows without replacing infrastructure.
What is GST analytics in credit underwriting?
GST analytics uses a borrower's GST filing history — monthly turnover declarations, input tax credits, and filing regularity — as a proxy for actual business activity. Lenders cross-validate GST turnover against bank statement inflows to detect income misrepresentation and improve underwriting accuracy.
Who are Santulan AI's typical customers?
Santulan AI serves Indian banks, NBFCs, housing finance companies, and fintech lenders focused on MSME credit, working capital loans, supply chain finance, and invoice discounting. Both large institutions and early-stage digital lenders use the platform for credit decisioning.
Are the free tools on Santulan AI reliable for credit decisions?
The free tools — DSCR Estimator, Working Capital Stress Calculator, and Bank Statement Health Checker — are indicative calculators designed for orientation and education. They use standard industry formulas but should not replace a full underwriting assessment using verified borrower data. They are useful for quick pre-screening and explaining concepts to credit teams.
What is automated underwriting and how does it reduce TAT?
Automated underwriting applies lender-defined credit policy rules to structured borrower data — cashflow, KYC, bureau, GST — and generates a credit decision or recommendation without manual review at every step. Santulan AI's engine can reduce credit TAT from 3–7 days to under 30 minutes for standard MSME loan profiles.
Still have questions?
Talk to our lending specialists — we answer questions about MSME credit workflows and platform integration.