Experian, FICO and Finicity Launch New UltraFICO™ Credit Score

LAS VEGAS, NV – October 22, 2018

Experian®, FICO® and Finicity® announced a new credit score today during the Money 20/20 USA conference. The new score, called UltraFICO™ Score, leverages account aggregation technology and distribution capability from Experian and Finicity to help consumers improve access to credit by tapping into consumer-contributed data, such as checking, savings and money market account data, that reflects responsible financial management activity.

With UltraFICO™ Score, a consumer grants permission to contribute information from banking statements, including the length of time accounts have been open, frequency of activity, and evidence of saving, which can be electronically read by Finicity and combined with consumer credit information from Experian to provide an enhanced view of positive financial behavior.

Experian, FICO and Finicity estimate this new score has the potential to improve credit access for the majority of Americans and is particularly relevant for those who fall in the grey area in terms of credit scores (scores in the upper 500s to lower 600s) or fall just below a lender’s score cut-off.  Consumers who are relatively new to credit with limited history or those with previous financial distress that are getting back on their feet stand to benefit the most.

“This changes the whole dynamic of the lender and customer relationship,” said Jim Wehmann, executive vice president, Scores, at FICO.  “It empowers consumers to have greater control over the information that is being used in making credit risk decisions.  It also enables a deeper dialogue between the consumer and lenders to help both parties make better financial decisions.  It’s a game changer.”

The UltraFICO™ Score will launch as a pilot program in early 2019. The pilot is designed to validate the score and assess willingness of consumers to share financial data for a potentially higher score. Pilot participants were sourced across various lines of businesses.

The model developed by FICO will be implemented through Experian and integrated into a lender’s existing operational workflow. Borrower data will be aggregated through Finicity. The UltraFICO™ Score builds off of the framework of the base FICO® Score, and is designed to reflect the same odds-to-score relationship so that the new score can be easily incorporated into lending strategies and origination, account management systems. The UltraFICO™ Score is slated to be broadly available to lenders mid-2019.

“As the consumer’s bureau, our goal is to help empower consumers and to give better access to credit for more consumers, all while promoting fair lending,” said Alex Lintner, president, Consumer Information Services, Experian. “Through this project, we’ve found a new way to use consumer-permissioned data that allows lenders to make better decisions and helps consumers gain access to credit.”

“This approach allows Americans to benefit from positive financial behaviors,” said Steve Smith, CEO, Finicity. “We are proud to have created a new way for consumers to share financial information, safely and securely so that a new UltraFICO™ Score can be created.”

To learn more visit: www.fico.com/en/products/ultrafico-score or www.fico.com/ultrafico

Also, join Experian, FICO and Finicity at this year’s Money 20/20 USA keynote discussion entitled, “New Frontiers in Credit Risk Scoring for a Customer-Centric Era” on Oct. 24 at 10:55 a.m. PT.

ABOUT EXPERIAN

Experian is the world’s leading global information services company. During life’s big moments – from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers – we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organizations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have 16,500 people operating across 39 countries and every day we’re investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximize every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Learn more at http://www.experianplc.com/ or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

ABOUT FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 185 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time.

Learn more at http://www.fico.com

FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

ABOUT FINICITY®

Finicity’s mission is to help individuals, families and organizations make smarter financial decisions through safe and secure access to fast, high-quality data. The company, which launched its first financial product in 2000 and has since grown to provide financial data APIs, credit decisioning tools and financial wellness solutions, partners with influential financial institutions and disruptive fintech providers alike to give consumers a leg up in a complicated financial world. The company has developed more than 15,0000 bank, wealth management and credit card integrations, giving it broad market coverage and utilizes advanced analytics and data intelligence to deliver rich financial insights. Finicity received recognition from American Banker in it's 20 Best Fintechs to Work For list, it was awarded API World’s 2016 Finance API of the Year and is a 2018 HousingWire Tech100 winner. To learn more or test drive its API, visit www.finicity.com.

FICO Media:
Greg Jawski
Porter Novelli for FICO
+1 212-601-8248
greg.jawski@porternovelli.com