Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A new affordability checking service which uses Open Banking data to enable lenders to make more accurate real-time credit decisions on consumers has been launched.
RealCheck, uses bank data to help consumers understand what they can truly afford to borrow, and then access accurate loan rates appropriate to the customers’ circumstances at that time. In addition, lenders can accurately assess a customer’s risk, by using up-to-date bank data, rather than traditional credit scores.
Rob Kenley, MD at RealRates.com which power RealCheck, said “As lenders continue to grapple with the uncertainty of credit risk following the Coronavirus pandemic, the RealCheck tool has been launched to help take the burden of proof away for both the consumer and the lender.”
“The economy has changed dramatically over a matter of months, with credit risk models built on bureau data and traditional risk scores becoming increasingly obsolete. In addition, information around how consumers have used credit in the past offers less and less insight when it comes to predicting good and bad outcomes for the future.”
“The notion that lenders are somehow given ‘an idea’ of how suitable a person is for credit is no longer acceptable – in the current economic climate they need rock solid proof.”
“Open Banking has been touted as the next big thing for loan decisioning in the UK and the Coronavirus pandemic looks set to have moved things on more quickly than perhaps was first envisaged and we are delighted to be one of the first to market,” Rob added.
“23 million UK consumers made more than 116 million eligibility checks* for loans and credit cards. RealCheck uses bank data to help consumers understand their borrowing power and increase their chances of being offered a loan.”
“For the consumer, the burden of summarising and calculating those same incomings and outgoings is taken away, while the aggregator and lender have confidence that the customer can afford to borrow and comply with affordability regulations.”
“RealCheck is a step up from the traditional ‘soft-search’, which hasn’t previously said anything about a person’s occupation or real-time financial capabilities during the credit application process, and has been in development for some time – so we are thrilled to be launching it at a time when lenders, consumers and aggregators alike look set to benefit the most.”
