Equifax Australia and Mastercard collaborate on 'Open Score' initiative to enhance financial accessibility for a broader population.
Equifax, a leading global data, analytics, and technology company, and Mastercard have joined forces to launch Equifax Open Score, a groundbreaking bank transaction score designed to promote financial inclusion in Australia.
Equifax Open Score leverages open banking data to offer a more comprehensive understanding of consumers' financial behaviour. This innovative approach allows cash flow underwriting to be performed efficiently and automatically, providing lenders with predictive power across the credit spectrum.
The score is particularly beneficial for consumers who have historically had limited access to credit, such as those with little or no traditional credit history. By evaluating alternative data like income, expenses, or rental payments, Equifax Open Score uncovers insights into consumers that aren't available with traditional credit reporting information.
Melanie Cochrane, the chief executive officer of Equifax A/NZ, emphasises the potential impact of Equifax Open Score, stating, "Equifax Open Score will empower more Australian consumers to manage their financial health."
Equifax Open Score is built on the principle of consent by design, ensuring that consumers have full control over their data. Sharing only happens with their explicit permission, providing a secure and transparent process.
The score ranges from 0-10 and is presented with key contributing factors to help consumers understand what influences their score. Additionally, Equifax Open Score includes a Confidence Metric to indicate the score's reliability in representing a consumer's financial wellbeing.
Secure, consumer-consented bank transaction data obtained through the Consumer Data Right (CDR) is utilised for analysis in Equifax Open Score. This data is processed through Mastercard's accredited Open Banking platform, ensuring secure sharing of banking data.
Brenton Charnley, vice president of Open Banking, Australasia at Mastercard, highlights the potential of Open Score, saying, "Open Score empowers Australians to improve financial literacy, manage budgets, and make informed borrowing decisions."
By providing lenders with actionable insights derived from bank transaction data, Equifax Open Score aims to make more credit invisible consumers visible to lenders and financial services providers. This initiative is a significant step towards financial inclusion in Australia.
- Equifax, a global data, analytics, and technology company, and Mastercard have collaborated to introduce Equifax Open Score, a technology-driven bank transaction score aimed at promoting financial inclusion in Australia.
- Equifax Open Score utilizes open banking data for a more in-depth understanding of consumers' financial behavior, enabling efficient and automated cash flow underwriting for lenders.
- The score, particularly advantageous for consumers with limited credit history, focus on alternative data such as income, expenses, or rental payments to reveal previously unavailable insights about consumers.
- The global payments and technology company, Mastercard, has accredited their Open Banking platform to process the secure sharing of banking data in Equifax Open Score.
- Equifax Open Score, designed with consent by design, allows consumers to have full control over their data, ensuring secure and transparent sharing only with explicit permission.
- With actionable insights derived from bank transaction data, Equifax Open Score aims to make more 'invisible consumers' visible to lenders and financial services providers, marking a significant stride towards financial inclusion in Australia, bolstering financial literacy, budget management, and informed borrowing decisions.
