Experian , a company specialising in consumer and business credit reporting, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Oakbrook , a non-bank provider of consumer lending services. In a bid to increase financial inclusion and provide more competitive loan options, Experian partnered with Oakbrook, allowing the latter to leverage Experian Boost data in its decision-making process for personal loan applications.

Through this collaboration, the two companies plan to increase access to credit for customers who are not traditionally eligible to receive it. Experian Boost and the partnership’s mission Experian Boost focuses on supporting consumers in optimising their Experian Credit Score by leveraging transactional information, including current account incomings and outgoings, as well as regular payments to digital streaming providers, saving accounts, and council tax. By teaming up with Oakbrook, Experian is set to advance its commitment to increasing financial inclusion for consumers, as Boost users now have access to an expanded suite of credit options.

Additionally, users can connect to Experian Boost through Open banking and willingly add relevant and real-time information to augment their Experian Credit Score. Afterwards, Oakbrook connects with customers via various comparison websites, assisting them in seeing a panel of potential loan options, including pre-approved loans from Oakbrook. Through its capabilities, Experian Boost aims to enable these eligibility results on affiliate sites, delivering a clearer and more concise picture of a borrower’s creditworthiness in the UK. By integrating Experian Boost data into Oakbrook’s eligibility and full decisioning process, alternative data sources can be leveraged to scale a customer’s Experian Credit Score.

This enables the two companies to identify borrowers who conventionally may not have been eligible for a loan. The decision to forge this partnership follows an update to how the size of the score boost is determined, with users now being able to increase their Experian Credit Score by up to 101 points. When commenting on the announcement, representatives from Oakbrook mentioned their company’s allegiance to continuously advancing and providing customised, affordable, and augmented financial products. The firm centres its efforts on offering solutions that are easily accessible and simple to manage, which ensures that customers receive the support they need in their financial journey.

The collaboration with Experian is set to allow Oakbrook to meet the diverse needs, requirements, and demands of customers, making credit more inclusive. Source: Link .