Updates on 2018-01-01 : We have added the date for the main sale (February 1, 2018).

Updates on 2017-11-09 : We have added the date for the presale (November 20, 2017) based on HERO's recent blog post .

Summary

Video summary (video is 10:31 long):

Project Overview

Based in Philippines, PawnHero is the first online pawn shop in Southeast Asia. It aims to address the issue of expensive credit in a country where only 20% of the population have bank accounts and less than 5% own a credit card.

PawnHero has no physical branch and is online only. With this structure, the company can offer more competitive terms than other lending companies. Here is how PawnHero works in a nutshell:

The customer submits item information (a “Request”) at PawnHero’s website. PawnHero’s platform, Opus, then links the request to its Magnus Loan pricing model which instantly delivers several loan offers with different loan maturities to the customer. The customer then selects their preferred loan offer and is guided through Customer Information, Payment Method, and Delivery modules.

Opus then arranges for a PawnHero motorbike courier (“PawnTrooper”) to pick up the item from the customer’s home. At the time of pickup, the PawnTrooper completes the legally required KYC procedures, issues a pawn ticket to the customer, and receives the item for delivery to PawnHero.

Appraisers authenticate the item and assess the condition of the item. If the item authenticity is confirmed and the condition of the item is as represented in the Request, then the loan is released through Opus to the preferred pay-out option selected by the customer.

If the item inauthentic, then the item is returned to the customer. If the item is authentic but not in the condition represented in the Request, then the appraiser estimates the revised value of the item and Opus delivers a new loan offer via SMS and email to the customer.

If the customer accepts the revised offer, then the loan is released through Opus to the preferred pay-out option selected by the customer. If the customer declines the revised offer, then the item is returned to the customer.

PawnHero stores the pledged items at the Operations Center. Opus tracks the movement of the pledged items throughout the process until the items is either returned to the customer upon redemption by a PawnTrooper or the item is sold.

Below is a video episode featuring PawnHero (video is 25:22 long):