New agreement between FICO and EFL can help millions of consumers in emerging markets
October 26, 2016: As part of its FICO Financial Inclusion Initiative, analytic software firm FICO has announced a strategic partnership with EFL Global to expand credit scoring options for lenders and consumers in markets outside the US. FICO will offer EFL’s psychometric scoring alongside its own credit scoring products in global markets, with the initial focus on Turkey, Russia and Mexico.
“We estimate that more than 3 billion consumers globally could gain access to credit at affordable rates if there were an effective way to assess their ability and willingness to repay loans,” said Jim Wehmann, EVP of Scores at FICO. “EFL has over a decade of experience in research and scoring consumers and small businesses with no credit history in 30 countries. Combining this with FICO’s credit scoring expertise and market reach takes us another step closer to helping people lead better lives, which also can have a positive impact on the economy.”
What is psychometrics
Psychometrics is a scientific means of evaluating a consumer’s stability and willingness to repay their loans based on validated consumer contributed data via a survey process. EFL’s psychometric scoring technology was born out of more than a decade of empirical research, initially at Harvard, and validated by over a billion dollars of lending across the world. In the past five years, EFL’s innovations have expanded the horizon of alternative data for credit decisioning.
“EFL’s pioneering psychometric scoring technology has enabled lenders to disburse loans to worthy consumers and SMEs worldwide,” said DJ DiDonna, cofounder and chief strategy officer at EFL. “FICO and EFL have complementary products and a shared focus on helping consumers and small businesses gain access to credit. We are thrilled that EFL and FICO can work together to help information-scarce households and entrepreneurs gain access to affordable credit.”
FICO’s initiative
The FICO Financial Inclusion Initiative aims to help lenders make affordable credit available to the estimated 3+ billion unbanked and underbanked adults worldwide. These ‘credit invisibles’ benefit from credit scores that leverage multiple data sources to assess credit risk and assist responsible lending.