Europe’s provider of credit information, CRIF, has reportedly expanded its Open Banking-enabled consumer credit solution to the United Kingdom, assisting more consumers with accessing affordable, “responsible” credit during the ongoing economic crisis.
CRIF’s credit scoring service, which is currently available to UK-based banking institutions and lenders, leverages Open Banking tech to connect to a consumer’s current account and access real-time details regarding their financial status.
CRIF then classifies this type of data to profile spending behaviors, financial health, affordability, identity, cashflow forecast and credit risk, while enabling financial institutions to identify various business development opportunities – for instance providing affordable insurance offers.
Building on typical credit checks, CRIF’s automatic, real-time profiling and insights enables lenders to enhance the quality and speed of their decision-making process. It allows for more clients to gain access to financial products that are appropriate for them without being wrongly declined, because of a lack of up-to-date financial details or having to resort to much higher cost options.
In addition to this, Open Banking data enables clients to be assessed for their creditworthiness even if they currently have a limited credit history, including those consumers who haven’t borrowed before, or those who might be new to the country.
CRIF’s consumer credit scoring service is reportedly connected to more than 3,200 banks and has benefited many consumers and SMEs across European markets.
To date, more than 150 established lenders are using CRIF’s open banking solution to automate routine processes, lend more and lower overall risk.
This service gives domestic and international service providers the benefit of a single point of access to data and locally adapted categorization / analytics on 15 European nations.
Sara Costantini, Regional Director for the UK & Ireland at CRIF, said:
“The cost of living crisis is putting a major strain on consumers and businesses alike. Without accurate, up-to-date credit information, many risk being declined financial support, face higher interest rates or could be offered unaffordable products. It’s more vital than ever that financial providers can lend accurately but responsibly to consumers and businesses. Our new open banking-powered consumer credit scoring gives UK lenders a much more in-depth and up-to-the-minute view of an individual’s financial circumstances than previously possible.”
Sara added:
“With credit reference agencies in 30 countries, we’re better placed than anyone else to help lenders make better, more accurate decisions around the creditworthiness of consumers and businesses, ensuring that more people can access affordable, responsible credit when they need it.”
In the United Kingdom, this service joins CRIF’s credit scoring service for businesses, Credit Passport, which leverages open banking to offer lenders and financial providers with the most accurate view of a small business’ finances.
The service is being used by around 30,000 UK small businesses in order to assist them with better understanding and enhancing their credit score and evidence their creditworthiness to lenders.
The introduction of CRIF’s consumer credit scoring service in the UK is reportedly a part of its goal to support financial providers with providing their clients with a seamless digital journey, from user onboarding and evaluation, through to business development, and enables service providers to provide a customer experience that consumers have come to expect in an all-digital environment