Equifax has bought London-based transaction data analytics company AccountScore to improve its Open Banking and insights capabilities.

The credit reference agency will combine traditional credit bureau information with bank transaction data facilitated by AccountScore.

The company said that integration of these new data assets will enable its customers to have access to higher rates of automated, digital income verification, to carry out more granular assessments of affordability and expenditure, and offer more predictive and inclusive credit scoring.

It claims that this combined data approach will “improve an individual's ability to demonstrate their creditworthiness by enabling information that isn't currently used to be taken into consideration.”

This approach, it said, enables financial inclusion for those with 'thin' credit files, increasing their potential access to credit at a time of great financial uncertainty.

"This is a really exciting development for Equifax and the acquisition of AccountScore, our long-term partner in open banking, is a natural next step as we continue to expand our data and analytics capabilities," said Patricio Remon, president of Europe at Equifax. "AccountScore is a pioneering company with a proven track record of building innovative Open Banking platforms and this signals our commitment to continuously evolve and embrace strategic innovation to support our clients' digital transformation, and will bring many benefits for their customers."

He added: "More than 2.5m UK consumers and businesses now use Open Banking-enabled products to manage their finances, access credit and make payments. This growth is helping to empower a generation of consumers, giving them more control over their own financial information, offering them greater access to a wider range of financial products and making it much easier to complete simple digital applications."

Emma Steeley, chief exectuive at AccountScore, said:"AccountScore and Equifax have an established and successful partnership, having collaborated on a number of products and offerings over the last two years. This acquisition allows AccountScore to accelerate its growth and reach new customers, backed by a powerful global company.

She added: "Open Banking is going from strength to strength, with the adoption in both the consumer and SME markets growing rapidly each month. We have seen lenders power improved credit decisions and account management processes using Open Banking to ultimately better service their customers."

Regulatory approval for the acquisition has been received from the FCA.

Share Story: