Experian Launches Open Banking-Powered Solution to Expand Access to Credit

Experian has launched a solution designed to further inform lending decisions and expand access to credit.

The new Cashflow Attributes uses open banking insights from more than 900 income, cash flow and affordability attributes that lenders can use in their decision-making, the global information services company said in a Thursday (May 9) press release.

“We believe banking information holds untapped potential and that our new Cashflow Attributes represent an exciting step forward that can easily be integrated into lending decisions,” Scott Brown, group president of Experian Financial and Marketing Services, said in the release.

This solution is designed in part to empower financial inclusion by improving access to credit for nearly 106million “thin-file and credit invisible consumers” in the United States who are currently unable to secure credit at mainstream rates, according to the release.

Adding insights from checking and savings account information to traditional credit report data helps create a more detailed view of a consumer’s financial health and creditworthiness, the release said.

For lenders, this combination can boost predictive accuracy by as much as 20%, allowing them to both drive revenue growth and mitigate risk, per the release.

“As we look ahead, we will continue to leverage our core credit data, new data elements and our analytics expertise to unlock new opportunities for both consumers and businesses,” Brown said in the release.

In another recent addition to Experian’s effort to expand access to credit-building innovations, the company launched the Experian Smart Money Digital Checking Account and Debit Card, featuring FICO score-boosting Experian Boost.

This offering aims to provide consumers with a way to build credit without accumulating debt. The Experian Smart Money Digital Checking Account allows consumers to pay eligible bills and have those payments added to their Experian credit file.

In January 2022, the company launched Experian Go, a free program to help people with limited or no credit history start building credit by creating an Experian credit report.

Within minutes of creating an Experian Go account, these “credit invisibles” can have an authorized Experian credit report, tradelines and a credit history by using Experian Boost, as well as access to financial offers without going into debt first.