Miss out on our latest webinar? Don't worry, we've put together a brief webinar recap to find out more about what Urjanet's Erik Becker, VP Sales, and eCredable’s CEO, Steve Ely, think of today’s credit scoring models, the shortcomings and limitations, and how new proprietary models could be the answer to giving the millions of underbanked and unbanked American consumers a more sufficient method of credit scoring. In this webinar recap you’ll also gain insight into the sentiments around this new proprietary scoring model as the team reviews the results of a recent survey conducted by Urjanet of nearly 900 American consumers. Check out the webinar recap to learn more!

2. Urjanet’s Erik Becker, VP Sales, and eCredable’s CEO, Steve Ely, joined
together in our panel discussion webinar to take a look at today’s credit
scoring models, their shortcomings and limitations, and how a new
proprietary models could be the answer to giving the millions of
underbanked and unbanked American consumers a more sufficient
method of credit scoring.
In this webinar recap, you’ll gain insight into the sentiments around this
new proprietary scoring models as the team reviews the results of a recent
survey conducted by Urjanet of nearly 900 American consumers. Read on
to learn more about these topics and more!

4. Currently, FICO remains one of the top bureaus that lenders use to determine
consumer credit risk. According to Steve Ely, CEO of eCredable, while the
models FICO uses are traditionally useful for assessing someone’s credit risk
more easily, it is less useful for the millions of Americans who are classified as
"unbanked" or "underbanked". These models take a variety of information,
including payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, credit
mix, and new credit to assess someone's score.
This mixture of consumer information then is scaled on a ranking system of
scores that fall into "Poor", "Fair", "Good", and "Excellent" categories. And while
this scoring method can be incredibly helpful for those who already have a
thicker credit file, it does have its limitations.

5. The current roadmap to achieving optimal credit history is a bit
of a tightrope walk, according to Ely. He stated that the current
roadmap to good credit revolves around opening new
accounts, or tradelines as they are known to banks and credit
bureaus. He states that there are three ways to do this if you're
just starting to build credit:
Acquire a secure credit card from a bank
Apply for a starter loan from a credit bureau
Have a friend or family member add you as a verified
user on their credit cards

6. Once you have received a loan and begin to build your credit, you
can apply for other tradelines, and they are reported to the major
three bureaus to increase your score. But while this may seem
easy, building good credit from scratch can take time, and can be
damaged very quickly as a result of late payments, bankruptcy,
and more.
The current models lend themselves to a host of limitations,
especially for those with thin or no-hit files. But companies, like
eCredable, are providing a new proprietary models utilizing new
data to help millions of un- or underbanked consumers achieve a
healthy credit score.

8. According to Ely, there's a clear need for a new credit scoring models that positively
impacts both consumers and lenders. That's where proprietary models come in.
eCredable offers a unique approach, using a variety of the consumers' payment history
data to analyze their credit worthiness. The company takes payment history information
on utilities like rent, cable, telecom, water, gas, electricity, and insurance payments to
better understand how likely the consumer is to pay back a loan.
As these models are starting to gain traction with lenders, Urjanet wanted to understand
how the consumers felt. In a recent survey of nearly 900 American consumers, Urjanet
asked consumers how they felt about today's models and potential use of alternative
data for new credit scoring models.
of respondents felt that today’s credit
scoring methods are accurate when
determining an individual’s credit risk.

9. When it came to incorporating alternative data into
credit scoring models,
of respondents said they agree or somewhat
agree that utilizing this data would help paint
a more accurate picture of an individual’s
creditworthiness.

10. When it came to the type of alternative data respondents were
comfortable with, utility bill payment data ranked top of the list.
of respondents felt water,
electric, or gas bill payments
were good indicators of
creditworthiness of respondents
of respondents said
cable, mobile phone,
and internet payments
of respondents cited
rent payment

11. When it came to the type of alternative data respondents were
comfortable with, utility bill payment data ranked top of the list.
of respondents said they
would be very comfortable
with providing access to
water, electric, or gas
payments
of respondents felt the
felt this way about their
same about their
internet, mobile phone,
and cable payments
of respondents felt like
this about their rent
payments

13. According to Erik Becker, VP Sales , Urjanet, these types of proprietary models have
"been made possible by the advent of web services and web service technology
infrastructure. Allowing applications to communicate with one another to exchange
data and application access across the internet is the underlying technology that
enables much of the innovation in the financial technology space, and enables the
relationship between Urjanet and eCredable.
In the case of Urjanet, for example, we have built a platform that aggregates utility data
from a number of services. The data points are then normalized for companies, like
eCredable, who use that data to better understand their consumers payment history.
Companies can also receive this information on an ongoing basis to monitor payment
history of consumers.

14. The value for lenders in creating these proprietary models is vast. According to a recent
TrasnUnion survey, it was found that of 317 lenders, nearly 2/3 said they have seen
tangible benefits within the first year of using alternative data. Combine this with the
competitive market value these models offer and lenders are essentially able to tap into a
new market that has previously been untouchable.
The Value of Utility Data as a Point of Analysis
of lenders said they can
reach more credit
worthy customers in
their current markets
of lenders said they are
more competitive in the
marketplace
of lenders said they are
better pricing their credit
to match risk

15. But what about consumers? Can these proprietary models change the way younger
generations and immigrant populations achieve credit scores? Absolutely, says Becker. He
continues to say that "these some 50 million unscoreable Americans now have the chance
to achieve a credit score, build a credit score, and be more financially stable with the use of
utility bill payment history as a determining factor of their credit worthiness."
In the future, it is clear that there is major value in reassessing how lenders are currently
assessing credit worthiness, for both the lenders themselves and consumers as well. The
previously vast American population that is considered "unbanked" or "underbanked" will
have access to a viable credit score to build their credit file, and lenders now have the
opportunity to expand their market, creating a symbiotic relationship that was previously
hampered by traditional methods of scoring.
The Value of Utility Data as a Point of Analysis

16. Ready to learn more about how
Urjanet is helping companies
access hundreds of data points?
Learn more at urjanet.com.