HES Fintech vs Turnkey Lender: Which loan software is best for you?

Every loan you issue rides on the strength of your software. From credit decisions to collections, the systems you choose define how fast you can move, how accurately you can underwrite, and how safely you can scale. They affect your cost per loan, your regulatory exposure, and your borrowers’ experience. And in a market where 83% of lenders are actively investing in digital transformation, falling behind is expensive and irreversible.

HES Fintech and Turnkey Lender both offer end-to-end lending platforms built to simplify operations and reduce risk. But how they structure workflows, support different lending models, and scale across geographies varies dramatically. One leans into modular, highly customizable builds. The other emphasizes speed, pre-configured templates, and AI-driven decisioning. The right fit depends not just on where you are today, but where you’re going.

This guide doesn’t skim the surface. We break down how each platform performs across the full loan lifecycle. We also look at pricing clarity, onboarding friction, support quality, and how each solution holds up under scale.

Your lending software is either a growth engine or a silent liability. The wrong platform slows decisioning, breaks under volume, or traps your team in rigid workflows. And by the time those cracks show, you’ve already paid in compliance risk, and operational drag.

Read further: Loandisk vs. LendFusion: Which loan management software is better for you?

Overview of HES fintech

HES Fintech, established in 2012 and headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, is laser-focused on one thing: loan automation done right. The company has executed over 130 projects across 30+ countries, with clients spanning across commercial banks, fintech lenders, credit unions, and niche players in regions like the UK, Canada, Australia, MENA, and Eastern Europe. HES isn’t trying to serve every industry, it’s built specifically for lenders that need reliable, configurable, and scalable platforms to handle complex credit operations. This narrow focus means HES Fintech has matured into a trusted provider for mid-sized and enterprise lenders who can’t afford shortcuts, and who demand performance under regulatory and operational pressure. HES fintech serves:

• Banks replacing fragmented or outdated core lending systems
• Alternative lenders operating across multiple regions or credit products
• Microfinance institutions needing scalability with robust risk controls
• Specialty lenders in automotive, education, medical, or B2B financing
• Lenders operating in regulated markets requiring flexible deployment and audit readiness

Core value proposition 

What sets HES apart is its open architecture and full ownership model. Clients can license the source code and customize the platform without ongoing vendor constraints. This is a sharp contrast to rigid SaaS models. The technology stack (Java, PostgreSQL) is built entirely on open standards. This means that you don’t pay additional licensing costs to third parties. Strategic differentiators include:

• No per-user fees, allowing your operations and developer teams to scale freely
• White-label ready, making it easy to deploy branded portals for customers or agents
• Built-in credit scoring through AI tools, which uses historical lending data to power real-time risk assessments
• ISO 27001-certified security, with encryption, Role Based Access Control (RBAC), and audit logs 
• Modular architecture, letting you setup in phases (e.g., origination first, then servicing)

Deployment model

HES supports full deployment flexibility: cloud (AWS, Oracle), on-premise, or hybrid. If your country or industry mandates full control over data, infrastructure, or hosting location, this matters. The average implementation cycle takes 3–4 months for a standard rollout, including customization, integrations, and testing. The company assigns a dedicated Project manager and technical lead per project, guiding everything from requirements gathering to go-live. Importantly, the modular approach means you don’t need to deploy every feature at once. You can scale the system as your product lines or markets evolve.

Overview of Turnkey lender

Turnkey Lender, founded in 2014 and based in Austin, Texas, has grown fast by solving one very real problem. Most lenders don’t have time or resources for drawn-out software deployments. Serving over 200 customers across 50+ countries, Turnkey Lender has become the go-to for lending teams that need to go-live fast with everything working out of the box. The platform is popular in developing markets and among fintech startups, credit cooperatives, and non-bank financial institutions.

Turnkey Lender is designed to serve a wide spectrum of credit providers, from lean startups to mid-sized enterprises and vertical-specific lenders. It works well for teams without internal developers or those operating in underserved geographies where low-code/no-code flexibility is key. Key user types include:

• Digital lenders launching consumer, SME, or pay-later products
• Credit unions and cooperatives digitizing manual processes
• Embedded finance providers like retailers or service platforms offering credit
• Microfinance and alternative lenders who need to launch quickly with strong decision-making
• Banks testing new lending verticals with minimal infrastructure lift

Core value proposition 

Turnkey Lender is built around speed, simplicity, and automation. Its cloud-native architecture comes with a pre-configured engine, user interface, borrower portal, and workflows so you’re not spending months building from scratch. The platform’s standout feature is its proprietary AI decision engine, which uses machine learning models to evaluate borrower risk within seconds. This system can be retrained on your own data over time for improved accuracy. Another major asset is its extensive pre-built integration ecosystem. It covers everything from payment processors to CRMs, SMS gateways, KYC tools, and core banking APIs. Core strengths:

• 90% automation coverage across origination, underwriting, servicing, and collections
• 75+ integrations, including popular tools like Plaid, Salesforce, Paystack, and TransUnion
• Vertical-specific product editions with ready-made configurations (e.g., auto lending, BNPL, leasing)
• Support for multi-branch, multi-region operations through its Transformer Edition
• Quick configuration of scoring models, document requirements, and loan terms

Deployment model

Turnkey Lender is a cloud-first Software-as-a-Service product, meaning no infrastructure setup or local installations are required. It’s designed for speed-to-market. The Standard Edition can be deployed in a matter of days, depending on how closely your lending model matches the default flows. More complex needs like custom workflows, third-party integrations, or high-volume scale are supported via the Transformer Edition, which takes a few weeks to implement. The entire system is built to reduce technical debt and minimize dependencies. This is important for teams operating without dedicated IT resources.

Feature comparison

Both HES FinTech and Turnkey Lender offer robust features across key loan management categories. Below is a detailed comparison, including a narrative analysis of each category.

Loan origination

HES FinTech relies heavily on customization. Its origination engine is designed not just to give lenders complete control over every step of the process. From the initial borrower onboarding to loan approval, everything can be customized to fit complex lending models. If you’re operating in markets with volatile regulations, or you offer specialized products that require risk checks, HES gives you the room to build exactly what you need. The system allows for multi-channel intake: web, mobile, or in-branch and supports integrations for biometric KYC, dynamic interest rate calculations, and even government-subsidized loan structures.

A particularly strong point is its AI-powered risk assessment through GiniMachine. This tool doesn’t just look at credit scores, it factors in behavioral data, income history, and external risk signals to build a fuller picture of creditworthiness. For lenders with complex portfolios or a mix of borrower types, this level of insight can be the difference between scaling safely or getting hit by defaults.

Turnkey Lender, on the other hand, optimizes for speed. Its entire origination setup is geared toward getting loans processed and approved as quickly as possible often in under 30 seconds. This is a design principle. The platform comes with pre-configured workflows that lenders can adjust without touching code, which means teams can go live faster and iterate on their lending models without developer challenges. It’s built for high-volume environments; think digital-first consumer lenders or microfinance institutions that prioritize scale and speed over deep configurability.

But that speed doesn’t come at the cost of compliance. Turnkey Lender still handles digital onboarding, KYC, and AML automatically, covering over 90% of the origination process through its AI-driven decision engine. And while the platform may not allow the same level of granular customization as HES, it compensates by offering enough flexibility for most use cases, especially for lenders who want to move fast and adapt later.

Implication: HES is the platform you choose when your lending model is intricate and evolving. It gives you tools to fine-tune your approach and reduce long-term risk. Turnkey Lender is what you reach for when your business needs to scale quickly and efficiently, with less upfront configuration and more operational automation. The difference is clear: one gives you room to build; the other gives you speed to execute. Your business model determines which one matters more.

Loan servicing

HES FinTech approaches servicing like a precision toolset for lenders with complex portfolios. It doesn’t just support repayment tracking, it allows lenders to configure servicing rules to match the exact needs of each loan product. The built-in task management and custom workflows let teams automate servicing logic without losing control, while a powerful calculation engine ensures that interest adjustments, penalty applications, and early repayments are processed accurately even in edge cases.

Another area where HES stands out is in its handling of operational overhead. The system is designed to reduce manual interventions through automation, covering everything from amortization scheduling to collateral tracking and accounting syncs. If your servicing model involves regulatory reporting, blended portfolios, or customized loan schedules, HES gives you the infrastructure to handle it all without any challenges.

Turnkey Lender, in contrast, takes a more out-of-the-box approach and that’s not a downside, depending on what you need. Its servicing module is built to automate as much as possible from day one. Over 90% of common servicing tasks like charging repayments, sending reminders, calculating late fees, and generating statements run in the background without human input. That operational speed makes it especially attractive to digital lenders who want to focus on scale and customer experience rather than backend complexity.

The borrower experience is another strong point. Turnkey Lender offers a clean borrower portal and mobile app that lets customers track payments, upload documents, and receive notifications, without needing to call a support line. Collections, too, are automated with preconfigured strategies that trigger based on borrower behavior. It’s efficient, but that efficiency comes from standardization. This means lenders with specialized servicing needs may have to layer on custom code or external systems to achieve the same flexibility that HES offers natively.

Implication: HES FinTech is built for lenders with nuanced servicing demands; think banks, government lenders, or organizations with multi-layered loan products. It thrives where servicing requires careful control and custom logic. Turnkey Lender, meanwhile, is optimized for lenders who prioritize automation, customer convenience, and operational speed. Both platforms do the job; the difference lies in how much control you want over how the job gets done.

Automation and workflows

HES FinTech approaches automation from a systems-engineering mindset. At its core is a powerful BPM (Business Process Management) engine that gives lenders the ability to map, edit, and optimize every workflow in the lending lifecycle without writing a line of code. You can model approval chains, risk assessments, disbursement logic, and servicing tasks exactly how your team needs them to run. And as your business grows or regulatory requirements shift, those workflows can be adjusted with minimal developer involvement. 

HES also brings measurable efficiency gains. With AI-driven data processing and custom workflows, it cuts down manual data entry by 42% and reduces human errors by up to 90%. That’s not just a backend improvement, it directly impacts speed, compliance, and customer satisfaction. For lenders handling nuanced processes like multi-stage approvals or alternate credit scoring, this kind of control is key to scaling without losing quality.

Turnkey Lender, on the other hand, is designed for plug-and-play speed. Its Flow Builder allows teams to create workflows visually, without needing technical expertise. This tool is highly accessible as it enables quick onboarding, fast process design, and easy automation setup for common lending journeys. The platform automates over 90% of lending tasks out of the box, from application processing to document verification and borrower notifications. 

Turnkey Lender’s workflow logic, while effective for standard use cases, can feel rigid when trying to model highly specific business logic or layered decisioning structures. Lenders with unique underwriting or servicing needs may eventually find themselves bumping into the platform’s limits unless they’re willing to invest in add-ons or external customization.

Implication: Both platforms prioritize automation, but they do so in different ways. HES FinTech gives lenders the keys to build whatever they need with full transparency and control over every step. Turnkey Lender gets you running fast, automating core processes right out of the gate, with a smoother experience for smaller teams or newer lenders. The right choice depends on whether you value granular workflow control or prefer speed and simplicity.

Read further: 7 types of loan management software in 2025

Reporting and analytics

HES FinTech offers a reporting engine that’s tightly woven into its back-office environment. It gives teams the ability to drill down into the numbers that matter most to their operations. HES makes it possible to build and export highly specific reports. This flexibility becomes necessary in regions with complex regulatory reporting demands, or for lenders who need to monitor performance across multiple loan products, branches, or partner networks.

Users can create customized dashboards that align with their operational rhythm, weekly risk committee reviews, investor updates, audit compliance checks, or marketing funnel diagnostics. This makes HES ideal for lenders who want reporting to reflect their internal language and decision cadence.

Turnkey Lender, meanwhile, leans into intelligent automation. Its analytics system is designed to surface real-time insights without requiring users to build reports from scratch. You get a suite of standardized dashboards covering application volumes, approval rates, repayment behavior, and portfolio health but what sets it apart is its use of predictive analytics. For example, lenders can identify borrower segments likely to default or predict cash flow gaps across the portfolio weeks in advance. These kinds of forward-looking insights help lenders shift from reactive management to proactive strategy.

That said, Turnkey’s reporting is less about deep customization and more about accessible intelligence. You’re not expected to spend time tweaking formulas or designing custom dashboards as the system anticipates what you’ll need to see and surfaces it cleanly. This works especially well for fast-moving teams that prioritize speed and clarity over bespoke reporting.

Implication: HES gives you granular control ideal for lenders who want to measure what they define as success. Turnkey Lender gives you smart defaults and predictive visibilit, ideal for lenders who want fast, actionable insights without the reporting overhead.

Customer / borrower management

HES FinTech provides a borrower portal that can be white-labeled down to the smallest detail, allowing lenders to mirror their brand identity across the entire borrower journey. But it’s more than just a branded skin. The portal is mobile-adaptive, meaning it adjusts fluidly across devices without compromising usability. HES also integrates advanced onboarding tools like biometric identity checks and automated KYC workflows. 

Borrower data is captured, verified, and pushed into the backend without human intervention, shortening the time from application to approval. For lenders in heavily regulated markets or those scaling operations across multiple borrower segments, this kind of automation and customization can be a game changer.

Turnkey Lender approaches borrower engagement from a communication-first perspective. Their customer portal is clean and functional, but the strength lies in how it keeps borrowers connected. The platform supports automated SMS, email, and in-app notifications triggered by events like due dates, approval updates, or required actions. 

It also includes a native mobile app, not just a responsive website which offers added convenience for borrowers on the move. The app supports real-time updates, document uploads, and even direct chat with loan officers or support staff, creating a sense of immediacy and trust. While the portal is less flexible in design compared to HES, Turnkey makes up for it with embedded touchpoints that drive responsiveness and reduce delinquency.

Implication: HES offers deeper configurability and stronger backend automation, while Turnkey Lender focuses on keeping the borrower actively engaged throughout the loan lifecycle. The choice depends on whether you prioritize internal process efficiency or borrower-facing interaction.

Mobile and accessibility

HES FinTech relies heavily into brand ownership with its white-label mobile apps. These apps can be fully branded and published to the App Store or Google Play under the lender’s name. This offers a native mobile experience that mirrors the lender’s digital identity. 

This is especially valuable for fintechs or banks aiming to maintain a cohesive presence across platforms. The borrower portal is mobile-adaptable as well, but the administrative interface still has room to improve on smaller screens, as noted by some users on platforms like Capterra. This makes the mobile experience borrower-friendly, but operational tasks might still be better handled on desktop.

Turnkey Lender, on the other hand, prioritizes accessibility and ease of rollout. Rather than offering a white-label mobile app by default, they focus on a responsive web portal that works fluidly across smartphones and tablets. This reduces friction during implementation, especially for lenders who want to go live quickly without navigating the app store approval process. 

However, Turnkey does provide a dedicated mobile app for borrowers, which enhances convenience for users managing payments, uploading documents, or checking loan status on the go. It’s a more lightweight approach, but one that ensures functional mobile access across most use cases.

Implication: Turnkey Lender’s ready-made borrower app gives it a slight usability edge for lenders who prioritize mobility. But for those who want deeper control over brand and user experience, especially for scaling or customer-facing platforms, HES FinTech’s native app option offers greater long-term value.

Pricing and plans

HES FinTech adopts an enterprise licensing model, starting at $75,000 per year, designed for lenders seeking deep customization and long-term control. Key components of their pricing include:

• One-off payment model: Unlike most SaaS competitors, HES FinTech offers perpetual licenses rather than subscription-based access.
• No annual subscription fees: A one-time license fee eliminates ongoing commitments, offering a clear contrast to Turnkey Lender’s annual model.
• Customization costs: While the base system includes extensive features, additional customization incurs extra fees, users on Clutch note higher hourly development rates.
• Time to market: HES claims deployment timelines as short as 2 weeks, allowing lenders to go live quickly.
• Enterprise features: Unlimited custom features, Advanced API for workflow flexibility, Custom calculation logic, Local market integration, Debt automation tools andSource code ownership option

Turnkey Lender uses a subscription-based, portfolio-dependent pricing model, making it accessible to lenders with smaller operations or variable scale. Key components of their pricing include:

• Flexible monthly pricing: Starts at $500/month for basic use cases
• No per-user licensing fees: Pricing is tied to loan volume, not team size
• Annual subscription required: Recurring fees apply; includes access to software updates and support
• Machine learning & data services included: Credit bureau integration, Bank statement parsing, and Machine learning decisioning included in higher tiers
• Custom enterprise pricing and free trial options available

Read further: An overview of loan management software in Kenya

Ease of use 

HES FinTech prioritizes a user-friendly environment designed for non-technical users. The interface is clean and intuitively structured, enabling loan officers to navigate workflows without needing coding experience. The system’s modular design promotes gradual adoption, allowing teams to onboard and scale usage as needed without facing deep learning curves. HES provides hands-on implementation support, which includes onboarding programs and continuous customer success management. Some training resources include:

• Dedicated customer success managers
• Lifetime technical support
• Custom training programs
• Step-by-step onboarding guides

Turnkey Lender has made visible progress in enhancing usability through recent UI/UX upgrades, resulting in faster navigation and a more modern interface. It follows a standardized workflow that aligns well with the operational habits of lending professionals, reducing the effort needed to adapt. Turnkey Lender simplifies early adoption through pre-configured templates and default settings. Some training resources include:

• Online knowledge base
• Webinars and scheduled training sessions
• 24/7 technical support (included in paid plans)
• Implementation team support during setup
  

Integrations and API

HES FinTech supports over 100 native integrations across essential lending operations, including KYC/AML verification like Ondato and Jumio, credit reporting like Experian, Equifax, and local bureaus, payment processors like Stripe and VoPay, lastly, e-signature services like DocuSign. It also connects directly to banking APIs and Open Banking networks. Its RESTful API mirrors full platform functionality, supports webhooks for real-time updates, and offers enterprise-grade scalability with authentication controls, monitoring, and sandbox testing environments.

Turnkey Lender, on the other hand, offers more than 75 pre-configured integrations that prioritize speed and ease of implementation. These include payment gateways like PayPal and Authorize.net, credit bureaus such as TransUnion and Experian, and tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, PowerBI, and Adobe Sign. Its API enables full lending workflow automation, synchronization, secure access control, and reliable performance at scale across 50+ countries.

While both platforms offer strong API access and third-party integrations, HES FinTech provides deeper customization and a broader integration range. Turnkey Lender emphasizes plug-and-play ease with the most widely used tools, making it ideal for faster setup and standard lending needs.

Security and compliance

Both HES FinTech and Turnkey Lender demonstrate serious commitment to platform security, regulatory compliance, and customer data protection. However, their approaches and certifications reveal slightly different strengths.

HES FinTech is ISO 27001 certified as of 2024 and adheres to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, making it well-suited for European markets or any jurisdiction where data privacy is necessary. It implements enterprise-grade safeguards, including end-to-end encryption, role-based access controls (RBAC), multi-factor authentication, audit logs, and routine security audits. Backups are automated, and the company maintains transparency through documented privacy policies.

Turnkey Lender, meanwhile, offers a broader spectrum of compliance certifications. It’s SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II certified, ISO 27001 certified, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant, and aligns with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) standards. The platform combines bank-grade infrastructure with layered protections like fraud detection rules, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack mitigation, and activity monitoring. A GDPR plugin adds flexibility for data privacy needs across regions.

While HES FinTech delivers solid security foundations with a strong focus on GDPR and European standards, Turnkey Lender edges ahead in certifications and built-in compliance features, especially for lenders operating in more heavily regulated or global environments.

Scalability, market fit and strategic positioning

HES FinTech is built for lenders that prioritize control, regulatory compliance, and long-term scalability. Its Java Long Term Support (LTS) architecture supports horizontal scaling, while cloud deployment ensures performance and uptime. A flat pricing model, not charged per user, means lenders can scale their operations without worrying about rising license costs. The platform caters especially well to mid-market and enterprise lenders with portfolios above $10 million, banks undergoing digital transformation, and businesses operating in regulated industries like healthcare, automotive, or government-backed loans.

• Target fit: Mid-to-large lenders, banks, microfinance, vertical-specific lenders
• Scalability: Modular, horizontally scalable, cloud-based
• Go-to-market: Transparent pricing, published documentation, strong educational content
• Regions: Strong presence in European Union (EU); expanding into Middle East and North Africa (MENA), UK, Canada, and Australia
• Support model: Dedicated account managers, contact-form-based support

Strategically, HES appeals to lenders who want a white-labeled solution with full back-office control and API-level customization. Its marketing approach relies on clarity; detailed product breakdowns, pricing pages, and an emphasis on platform flexibility. While the platform offers quick launch times, it’s ultimately built for lenders who value extensibility and long-term ownership.

Turnkey Lender, in contrast, positions itself as a fast-moving, SaaS-native solution for developing fintechs, digital lenders, and SMBs. It offers portfolio-based pricing, which lowers the entry barrier for younger businesses. The platform has been deployed in 50+ countries, with growing traction in North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. It supports a wide range of use cases, from traditional consumer lending to embedded finance and peer-to-peer lending and enables teams to automate the entire lifecycle from onboarding to collections.

• Target fit: Digital-first lenders, SMBs, embedded finance startups, credit unions
• Scalability: Modular, multi-region deployments, proven performance at scale
• Go-to-market: Chatbot support, fast demo access, social proof (client logos, case studies)
• Regions: Strong North America base; active in Southern East Asia (SEA), EU, and Latin America (LATAM)
• Support model: Live chatbot, knowledge base, regional customer success teams

While Turnkey doesn’t offer the same level of backend customization as HES, it provides high configurability through no-code workflows, lending templates, and flexible integrations. Its marketing emphasizes speed, automation, and accessibility, often speaking to founders and operators looking for time-to-value. The sales process is frictionless, supported by clear call-to-actions and low-commitment demos.

Read further: What lenders in Ghana should look for in a loan management software

Making the smart choice for your lending business

If speed and simplicity are your top priorities, Turnkey Lender is the practical choice. It’s fast to deploy, affordable for smaller teams, and comes with a full suite of prebuilt tools. But that convenience comes at a cost: limited control, less flexibility, and a one-size-fits-most approach that may not scale well for lenders with complex needs.

HES FinTech, by contrast, is built for teams that need deeper customization, regulatory flexibility, and long-term ownership. It requires more upfront investment both in time and IT resources but offers the ability to shape your lending infrastructure around your business, not the other way around.

In the end, it’s what fits that matters most. Choose the platform that matches your growth stage, operational complexity, and how much control you want over your technology stack.