FICO partners with OpenWrks for affordability assessments

Source: IBS Intelligence 2020-06-01

FICO, the analytics and decision management provider, has partnered with Open Banking company OpenWrks to deliver AI-driven affordability assessments, allowing creditors to make appropriate customer decisions.

The solution will be developed using OpenWrks’ financial budgeting and conversational AI and FICO’s integrated collections and omni-channel platform, using Open Banking data to assist creditors in the decisioning.

OpenWrks’ MyBudget application enables consumers to complete self-service income and expenditure assessments online, while integration into the FICO® Debt Manager™ platform gives an accurate assessment about customer affordability, complete with payment and schedule options in under five minutes.

The AI will enable consumers to self-serve by completing the affordability assessment digitally as well as remotely, reducing operational cost and supporting social distancing in the current pandemic.

Traditionally, affordability assessments take on average 45 minutes and cost between £15-£20. They also have a significant margin of error, on average up to £3,600. This means the decisions creditors are making are sub-optimal and at risk of creating further customer detriment, the companies said.

Steve Bradford, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer at OpenWrks, commented: “Our MyBudget application uses a blend of Open Banking and user-contributed data to deliver a more accurate, holistic picture of someone’s finances. Using affordability metrics as part of customer management and collections strategies is not only a compliance exercise but also a way of engaging and building trust with customers.”

Neil Cunningham, senior partner, UKI FS & Nordics, FICO, added: “We have a rich heritage in transaction data analytics, so we’re excited about the complementary blend of capabilities and innovation this partnership will deliver. Having completed a strategic assessment of the market, OpenWrks is the clear market leader in delivering engaging consumer-facing applications and have an impressive record of innovation and scaling their Open Banking services, managing over 500,000 customers and 100 million API calls per month.”

FICO partners with OpenWrks for affordability assessments

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!