Equifax UK collaborates with Render to introduce a data decisioning platform designed for lenders
In a groundbreaking move, Equifax UK, in partnership with fintech company Render, has unveiled a new data decisioning platform for lenders called "Clear Decision." This innovative solution aims to revolutionize the credit decision-making process by combining traditional credit reference data with insights from Open Banking [1].
The hybrid approach of Clear Decision offers a more holistic view of borrowers' financial behaviours, enabling lenders to make more accurate and informed credit decisions. By integrating Open Banking data, the platform captures real-time transactional information alongside established credit data, thereby improving credit risk assessments and potentially broadening financial inclusion [1].
One of the key benefits of Clear Decision is its applicability across all asset classes, including mortgages, retail finance, motor finance, and unsecured credit. It automates the process of combining data to help streamline manual underwriting, making the process more efficient for lenders [1].
Equifax UK's director of partnerships and strategic alliances, Stephen Maitland, underscores the importance of understanding customers' affordability, particularly in marginal lending decisions. He emphasizes that Clear Decision is particularly useful for tackling marginal credit applications [1].
Clear Decision is not the only innovation from Equifax UK. Earlier, they introduced an affordability solution for lenders called "Affordability 360." This solution, like Clear Decision, utilizes Open Banking data to aid decision-making. Affordability 360 combines credit bureau data with real-time transaction data accessed via Open Banking, and statistical estimates [1].
Both Affordability 360 and Clear Decision aim to reduce errors, improve marginal lending decisions, and identify fraudulent applications. They are designed to help lenders make more informed decisions based on customers' individual financial circumstances [1].
It's worth noting that most lenders typically rely on bureau data at the start of a customer journey and only supplement this with granular Open Banking data for marginal or borderline cases. However, with solutions like Affordability 360 and Clear Decision, lenders can now incorporate Open Banking data from the outset, leading to more accurate and confident credit decisions [1].
Jonathan Mascie-Taylor, chief commercial officer at Render, expressed optimism about the potential of Clear Decision to be a game-changing solution for lenders. He believes that the platform will help lenders approve more customers with confidence, while also improving operational efficiency [1].
In conclusion, the joint venture between Equifax UK and Render has brought forth a promising solution for the lending industry. Clear Decision, with its innovative approach to credit decisioning, promises to enhance operational efficiency, broaden financial inclusion, and enable lenders to approve more customers with confidence.
[1] Data from Equifax UK and Render.
- The data decisioning platform Clear Decision, created by Equifax UK in partnership with Render, leverages insights from Open Banking to revolutionize the credit decision-making process and offer a more holistic view of borrowers' financial behaviors.
- One striking advantage of Clear Decision is its applicability across multiple asset classes, such as mortgages, retail finance, motor finance, and unsecured credit, helping streamline the manual underwriting process for lenders.
- Equifax UK's Affordability 360, another innovation, also utilizes Open Banking data to aid decision-making, combining credit bureau data with real-time transaction data for marginal lending decisions and reducing errors while identifying fraudulent applications.
- With solutions like Affordability 360 and Clear Decision, lenders are now able to incorporate Open Banking data from the outset, leading to more accurate and confident credit decisions and potentially broadening financial inclusion.
