Surfin Leverages AI-Driven Credit Scoring to Scale Financial Services Across Emerging Markets

New updates have been reported about Surfin (PC:SURFI)

Surfin, a Singapore-headquartered fintech founded in 2017, is accelerating its expansion across emerging markets by using a proprietary AI-based social credit scoring model at the core of its business strategy, according to CEO Dr. Yanan Wu in an interview conducted on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. The company has built a user base of more than 90 million across 10 emerging markets on three continents, disbursed over US$4 billion in total, and reported 50% year-on-year revenue growth, underpinned by a “core-satellite” market approach that concentrates risk-pricing capabilities in key markets while extending standardized products and technology into adjacent geographies. Its AI model incorporates over 600,000 features to assess risk and price credit, enabling Surfin to design and scale digital financial products for consumers who often lack conventional credit histories, particularly in underbanked emerging economies where access to lending has traditionally been limited.

Surfin has diversified beyond consumer finance into payments, remittances, credit cards, and wealth management, and is now entering a phase focused on deepening cross-sell across its multi-product ecosystem to increase customer lifetime value and unit economics efficiency. Management is also evaluating the strategic role of blockchain and stablecoins to provide faster, potentially instant, financial access, and is exploring the feasibility of tokenizing or fractionalizing digital financial products to broaden access and improve capital efficiency. Dr. Wu sees generative AI and embedded finance as key structural trends that will further integrate financial services into daily life, positioning Surfin to use both AI and blockchain not only to deliver credit but also to support personal wealth allocation and broader financial inclusion. The interview forms part of the NYSE–Insignia Ventures Partners “Going Global” series, highlighting Surfin’s trajectory as it scales its technology-led model beyond its core markets.