IE Hub and Mega AI have announced the launch of ELLIE, a new AI-powered affordability solution that aims to transform the way creditors identify, understand and support customers experiencing financial difficulty.
ELLIE combines IE Hub’s Standard Financial Statement (SFS) compliant income and expenditure (I&E) platform with Mega AI’s conversational AI technology, enabling creditors to deliver more intelligent and intuitive affordability journeys while reducing the reliance on traditional telephone-based assessments.
IE Hub is an online budgeting tool that helps customers to create budgets and manage their outgoings. It allows users to easily share their affordability information with creditors and set up payment plans without the hassle and stress of phone calls.
Mega AI develops AI-powered solutions for regulated industries including debt collection creating efficient processes and good customer outcomes.
Working together, the companies have designed ELLIE around four key pillars: intelligent pre-contact affordability, AI-powered conversations, intelligent customer triage and alerts, and a living affordability assessment.
If the customer is already an IE Hub user or a new affordability assessment is needed, they can fill one in digitally via IE Hub before engaging with an AI agent. ELLIE can also guide customers through a shorter I&E, where customers have not previously completed an assessment.
Using affordability information alongside the creditor’s own policies and rules, ELLIE can conduct an online conversation, determine the appropriate next-best action including agreeing repayment plans and even take payment.
ELLIE also integrates with the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), helping organisations identify vulnerability indicators earlier and route customers towards the most appropriate support. This enables creditors to bring in specialist teams sooner and focus their resources where they are needed most.
Once a customer has completed their I&E assessment they can choose to share their I&E with other creditors and access the wider IE Hub benefits including income maximisation and access to additional support. The “tell us once” approach is designed to reduce repetitive and often lengthy affordability conversations and create a more personalised experience, while providing creditors with consistent data to support better decision-making and outcomes.
Gareth Llewelyn, Chief Commercial Officer at IE Hub, said: “Affordability assessments are incredibly important, but the way the industry carries them out can still be time-consuming for creditors and frustrating for customers.
“ELLIE brings together the best of digital affordability and conversational AI. Customers shouldn’t have to spend 30 or 40 minutes repeatedly explaining their financial circumstances to different organisations.
“Our ambition is simple: use technology to make the process quicker and easier, while making sure customers who need additional support are identified and receive it.”
Martin Nielsen, Senior Vice President at Mega AI said: “AI has the potential to improve how organisations manage affordability conversations. By combining Mega AI’s conversational technology with IE Hub’s affordability infrastructure and expertise, ELLIE can deliver intelligent, personalised conversations at scale while ensuring customers can always access human support when needed.
“For creditors, ELLIE has been designed to deliver a number of potential benefits, including reduced operational effort, increased digital engagement, faster customer triage and more consistent affordability conversations. For customers, the proposition is built around a simple principle: tell us once. Rather than repeatedly completing affordability assessments, customers can maintain their financial information within IE Hub and choose when and with whom it is shared.”
