Finicity is part of the Mastercard family. Our open banking platform provides the financial data you need.

Rebecca Ayers sits down with Finicity CEO Steve Smith who explains how FCRA regulation simultaneously protects the consumer and open banking innovation.

Read the full article. 

Finicity releases detailed analysis affirming that data aggregators should be deemed CRAs and subject to FCRA requirements

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – February 11, 2021 – Finicity, a Mastercard company and leading provider of open banking solutions, has produced a detailed whitepaper with analysis showing why the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) should apply to providers of data aggregation services (“data agents”) in certain circumstances. 

The FCRA protects consumers by establishing and protecting the right for individuals to dispute inaccurate data in consumer reports and get those errors fixed. The growth of consumer-permissioned data sharing in lending, insurance, and employment means that FCRA compliance will become a critical component of consumer protection. 

“As Open Banking puts consumers in control of their financial data and gives lenders a more complete view of consumers’ creditworthiness, it’s critical that the sharing of financial data is conducted fairly, accurately, and with the utmost transparency,” said Steve Smith, Co-founder and CEO of Finicity. “Leveraging the protections of the FCRA will provide a vital regulatory framework that gives everyone in the financial ecosystem confidence in all of these areas, as well as manageable, familiar compliance standards for the data agents behind growing aggregation capabilities for underwriting use cases.”

Lenders have increasingly relied on new forms of financial data, such as information about a consumer’s bank account transactions, which can enable better, more effective credit-decisioning for lenders. This data supplements the traditional credit score to expand the lenders’ view of a borrower’s financial health, and ultimately stands to increase financial inclusion. Not only does this financial data give lenders a more thorough credit review process, it also empowers consumers with control over their own financial data, which they can grant or revoke access to. 

“With the emergence of third-party data aggregators and their ability to provide financial data for the purposes of credit decisioning, FCRA compliance is essential to protecting the consumer,” said Chi Chi Wu, Staff Attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

Finicity believes this new credit process also necessitates that it function in concert with fair reporting principles: data should be accurate, consumers should have access to their own data, and they should know when and how their data is used. 

In December 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the federal banking agencies released an Interagency Statement on the Use of Alternative Data in Credit Underwriting. In the Interagency Statement, the agencies recognized the consumer benefits of considering cash flow data in credit decisions and noted how consumers “can expressly permission access to their cash flow data”—through data agents—to enhance transparency and consumer control. 

The CFPB is expected to propose new rules around consumer-authorized access to financial data in early 2021. 

Finicity is releasing a detailed white paper “FCRA and Data Agents” with analysis of the mechanics and benefits of FCRA compliance for data aggregators. The full white paper can be downloaded at:  https://www.finicity.com/fcra-data-agents/

To learn more about Finicity, its data services, and its commitment to fast, reliable and high-quality data, visit www.finicity.com

About Finicity

Finicity, a Mastercard company, helps individuals, families, and organizations make smarter financial decisions through safe and secure access to fast, high-quality data. The company provides a proven and trusted open banking platform that puts consumers in control of their financial data, transforming the way we experience money for everything from budgeting and payments to investing and lending. Finicity partners with influential financial institutions and disruptive fintech providers alike to give consumers a leg up in a complicated financial world, helping to improve financial literacy, expanding financial inclusion, and ultimately leading to better financial outcomes. Finicity is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more or test drive its API, visit www.finicity.com.

Finicity CEO Steve Smith writes about how tomorrow’s leaders will be the companies that put consumers at the center of the conversation — helping them be more connected to their data, have more control and feel empowered to make the best financial decisions for themselves.

He specifically focuses on the credit review process and how open banking will make a difference. Read the full article at Forbes.

According to FICO, “79 million people in the U.S. have [credit] scores below 680, a common lender threshold of acceptable credit.” And “53 million people in the U.S. do not have enough data in their credit files to generate a FICO® Score.” With low scores or no scores, these tens of millions of Americans don’t have access to loans to help them take the next step in their financial journey. Additionally, many Americans don’t have access to other financial products and services that could help them be more financially stable. 

These consumers aren’t seeing the benefits of financial inclusion or, as the World Bank puts it, “access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs—transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance—delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.”

While these consumers may not have credit in the traditional sense or access to financial services, many have money flowing in and out of their accounts and may be perfectly capable of repaying their debts. So how can financial inclusion improve to include those who would be excellent candidates for financial products and services, even if their credit scores are low or nonexistent? Here are two crucial ways to improve financial inclusion:

Keep reading to learn why these are important and how to make them happen.

A Holistic Picture of Financial Health

Currently, lenders gauge creditworthiness by looking at the five Cs of credit:

While these five Cs are definitely good indicators to take into account, financial institutions miss out on lending opportunities when these are the only criteria they look at. Lenders should look at the whole picture of financial health, which includes indicators besides good credit. These can include bank account health, responsible spending behavior, and bill payment history.

Bank account health is a great indicator that consumers are responsible with their finances:

When consumers demonstrate responsible spending behavior, they avoid lifestyle inflation and stick to a budget. Their expenses do not exceed their income. 

Bill payment history not related to credit may include utilities, internet and phone, and subscriptions. If consumers are paying all their bills and paying on time, they’re likely a good candidate for financial services.

Financial inclusion improves when financial institutions look at the whole picture of financial health and not just the traditional measures of creditworthiness or simply the propensity to repay.

High-Risk Loans

Currently, consumers with low or no credit typically have access only to high-risk loans. These loans often charge high fees and interest rates, may require big-ticket items for collateral, and may put a cosigner on the hook if the loans are not repaid. Payday lenders, for example, can legally charge annual interest rates of up to 400 percent. Clearly, high-risk loans are not a responsible or sustainable way for consumers to improve their financial situation.

On the other hand, the best loans out there are typically available only to people with high credit. While interest rates are currently very low, “borrowers will likely face stricter lending standards as lenders try to protect against the coronavirus downturn,” writes Zina Kumok for U.S. News. While these loans are great options for those who qualify, standards for qualification are high and unattainable for many borrowers.

Financial inclusion improves when borrowers have access to financial services and products in place of high-risk, nontraditional lenders or accounts.

Bridging the Gap between Financial Exclusion and Financial Inclusion

To bridge the gap between what is currently available and what could be available, consumers and lenders need to have access to alternative data. This data can be provided through transactions and account details via open banking connections.

Two examples of this solution are Experian Boost and UltraFICO.

Experian Boost is a service that can do the following:

An UltraFICO™ Score aims to enhance consumers’ FICO® Scores by taking sound financial behavior into account. If consumers consistently have cash on hand and their accounts maintain a positive balance, their UltraFICO Score may actually be higher than their FICO Score. According to UltraFICO, there are “15 million people in the U.S. who can receive an UltraFICO™ Score, even if [they] don’t have enough credit history to generate a FICO™ Score.”

An UltraFICO Score is generated instantly, giving you access to good credit decisioning as soon as you need it. With the ability to improve or create traditional credit scores, consumers have greater access to traditional loans and lower interest rates, giving them a boost towards their financial goals. 

Our Finicity Lend™ data services are another resource to improve financial inclusion. Made possible by our open banking platform, Finicity Lend gives consumers the power to permission data access and gives lenders access to the data they need to make credit decisions. With Finicity Lend, lenders can make decisions that benefit them and consumers, and consumers are empowered to be fully involved in the process.

Millions of Americans are currently financially excluded, so improving financial inclusion is crucial to help them reach their financial goals. When financial institutions look at the whole picture of financial health, and when consumers have access to responsible financial services and products, financial inclusion improves and everyone benefits.

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A 2019 study from the University of St. Andrews School of Management gave financial management apps to participants and measured how having those apps affected the participants as compared to a control group. At the end of the study, the proportion of those who were confident about loan repayments to those who weren’t was 17.2 percent higher in the test group than in the control group. With a little information and guidance, the participants became more confident about their finances—and that is key to financial inclusion. 

Financial inclusion improves when consumers have access to and control over their personal financial data. At Finicity, our open banking platform puts consumers in control of their data, which in turn leads to better financial literacy, inclusion, and outcomes. 

Let’s take a look at how access and control improve financial inclusion, giving consumers better opportunities to make and reach their financial goals.

Access through Open Banking

In the past, and even still today, consumers’ access to their financial data has largely been limited to monthly paper or PDF statements. But recent innovations have improved consumer access, allowing consumers “to access and consolidate statements electronically and to better understand their financial situation through personal financial management and budgeting tools.”

How does this increased access help consumers? With data and fintech apps and services at their fingertips, consumers become more financially literate. It’s a simple equation: knowledge plus basic skills plus financial motivation equals better financial behaviors.

In the same University of St. Andrews study cited above, the authors found that using fintech apps was a gamechanger for the participants: “[The participants] expressed greater confidence in their understanding of loan repayments and demonstrated improved financial literacy…. Those receiving the smartphone apps proved more resilient when subject to a financial shock and were more likely to keep track of their income and expenditure.”

To help improve financial inclusion, financial institutions can give consumers access to their data through open banking connections and provide fintech apps that help consumers become more financially literate. The standard to aim for is “account ownership equals data ownership.” 

What does this look like in practice? It looks like consumers being able to give third-parties permission to access their financial data on their behalf. It looks like the ability to see and access their data easily within their financial institution’s web portal. It looks like consumers reaping the benefits of big data on an individual and household basis.

Financial inclusion improves when consumers have access to their financial data in standardized, meaningful ways. That way, “individuals and families across the socioeconomic spectrum [have] access to financial tools once reserved for the wealthy. Whether it’s personal financial management tools, the ability to contribute data to credit scoring, or participating in peer-to-peer payment platforms, access to personal financial data changes lives.”

Control through Consumer-Permissioned Data

Once consumers have access to their data, control is the next crucial ingredient for financial inclusion. Historically, consumers haven’t had much control over how their data is used, who has access to their data, how frequently their data is accessed, or how long their data is retained. Without control, access doesn’t mean much.

Today, consumers have more control over their data than ever. Consumers are now able to “opt-in” their financial data, which can help streamline the loan-application process, give them access to better loan terms, and improve their generic credit scores. This level of control is possible through OAuth connections that provide tokenized access so consumers can permission and revoke these tokens at any time from the financial institution. Tokens also keep account details with the financial institution enhancing security and lowering risk.

With this relatively high level of control, what should be next to improve financial inclusion? Informed consent is a good place to start. Consumers need to have intuitive navigation experiences using language that is easy to understand. It’s not informed consent if consumers don’t understand the information! 

To make informed consent possible, financial institutions should provide a standardized permissions interface. Consumers should be able “to easily view, modify, add, and revoke permissions across their library of financial services. When permissions are buried out of reach, consumers do not have the control they deserve. Power only exists when control can be exercised and managed.”

Access and Control in Practice

At Finicity, we aim to help financial institutions and consumers improve financial inclusion through consumer access and control. To improve consumers’ access to and control over their financial data, we’ve connected financial institutions and payroll providers via financial data APIs, enabling consumers to permission their data for use in third-party applications or solutions. 

For example, our Finicity Lendsolution gives consumers and lenders access to the following data:

This data can be used for everything from personal loans to small business loans. It’s real-time data that consumers can grant third parties access to in order to speed up the loan process. Its usefulness doesn’t end there, though. This data can also be used in just about any financial app, from budgeting to accounting to investments to account initiation and payments. The data is also FCRA-compliant so consumers can see the data used and dispute any inaccuracies.

Apps and services like these help improve financial inclusion. As the University of St. Andrews study found, people with access to this kind of information experience

Financial inclusion improves when consumers have access to and control over their personal financial data. Access and control allow consumers to be full participants in their financial journeys, giving them the best chance to make and reach their financial goals. 
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There are many ways to verify online Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment details for transfers. Voided checks, micro deposits, pre-validations and account scores all validate ACH account payment details in one form or another. They also take more time than is necessary and typically can only verify something rather than adding key data to what the consumer has provided.

This is where open banking and open banking platforms make verifying account details and speeding up the ACH payment process simpler for everyone. Consumer-permissioned data pulled straight from bank accounts makes verifying accounts simple. It can also provide account details like account owner or balances that make facilitating payments easier and less risky for both sides of the transaction.

Finicity’s open banking platform provides a complete suite of data services with Finicity Pay to verify essential account details, owners, and balances that are needed to charge, get paid, or set up an account with confidence. Finicity Pay enables payments and validates funding sources. You can also seamlessly verify loan account details, including student loans, to detect eligibility for refinancing, loan consolidation, or to support employer student loan repayment and other benefit programs. 

This means that Finicity Pay both satisfies Nacha’s WEB Debit Rule but also speeds up the ACH payment validation process and enhances fraud protection. Finicity is a Nacha Preferred Partner, recognized for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network.

Finicity’s instant verification solution takes advantage of Finicity’s open banking platform to use API connections to the many financial institutions in the US and Canada. Consumers permission the use of their account details which are then used for approved ACH payments, account creation or other permissible uses. The consumer can complete the verification process in minutes rather than waiting hours or days as in other solutions. Meaning their ACH transfer can process more quickly or they can get funds right into their new account.

Other ACH validation solutions either don’t provide the option for as much key data, only factor in account and routing number, or take much longer, up to a week in some cases. You may remember the days when you needed to provide a voided check to set up direct deposit transactions. Or to set up online accounts that are connected to your existing checking account you had to respond with how much was deposited into that checking account. There’s also pre-validating by providing information that is verified before the ACH transfer happens, which can take up to a week. Those days are over, thanks to Finicity Pay.

Some digital solutions are available but are limited either by what they provide, a score or likely probability that the account is good or has funds enough to cover the transaction, or only cover certain segments of the industry, as in providing details for accounts from certain FIs but not the industry as a whole.

Finicity’s instant verification can not only validate account details but can also provide account owner and account balance details to further mitigate risk and make ACH transfers easier.

Learn more about Finicity Pay or how it fits your needs by requesting a demo.

Southwest Business Corp., known as SWBC, has entered into a partnership with Finicity, a Mastercard company and Open Banking solutions provider. SWBC will use Finicity’s Open Banking platform Finicity Pay for instant account validation of online ACH payments

Read the full article.

Southwest Business Corp., known as SWBC, will rely on Finicity’s Pay for real-time verification of accounts.

“Our partnership with Finicity will allow SWBC to deliver new security capabilities protecting consumers and the institutions that serve them,” Tucker Stovall, vice president of product strategy at SWBC, said in a statement. “In addition, instant verification allows for speedy enrollment and immediate access to ACH transaction initiation, a significant improvement to the user experience.”

Read the full article. 

One thing we’ve learned this past year – if we didn’t already know – is how we pay, get paid, or otherwise move money, is changing. One almost wonders what the fate of paper money will be in the future. Until that is sorted out, we’ll continue exploring ways to improve the money movement process. That’s where open banking comes in. Through open banking we’re able to introduce new tools that secure and simplify the money experience. One area enhanced by open banking is Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments. 

To that end, we’re very excited that industry innovator SWBC has chosen Finicity Pay™ for instant account verification of online Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments. This partnership simplifies the payment process while also satisfying Nacha’s new web debit rule, planned to take effect March 2021.

NACHA’s New Rules

Currently, ACH Originators of web debit entries are required to use a “commercially reasonable fraudulent transaction detection system” to screen web debits for fraud, according to Nacha’s website. This existing screening requirement will now be strengthened to make it clear that “account validation” is a solution designed to enhance fraud protection.

Specifically, originators of debits are responsible for validating accounts to ensure the account is legitimate and open prior to the first use of an account number or after changes to the account number by a customer. While the rule doesn’t require the account owner to match or be validated, Finicity Pay also enables companies to determine the account owner on file with the bank for heightened validation and further fraud prevention.

While there are many ways to validate accounts, Finicity’s open banking platform makes it easy to receive validation in real-time thanks to APIs and direct connections with financial institutions. Web debit originators don’t need to wait on manual verification, microdeposits, pre-notifications or any other service for dependable, accurate account verification.

How Finicity Pay Fits In

Finicity Pay will verify the essential account details, owners, and balances that are needed to charge, get paid, or set up an account with confidence.  As a complete suite, Finicity Pay enables payments and validates funding sources. It can also seamlessly verify loan account details, including student loans, to detect eligibility for refinancing, loan consolidation, or to support employer student loan repayment and other benefit programs. This means that Finicity Pay both satisfies Nacha’s web debit rule but also speeds up the payment validation process and enhances fraud protection. Finicity and SWBC are Nacha Preferred Partners, recognized for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network.

SWBC provides financial institutions, businesses and individuals a wide range of services, including insurance, mortgages, wealth management, employee benefits, among others, and is a valued addition to our list of providers.To read more about this announcement, please read the press release here. And to learn more about Finicity Pay, check out our website.

Finicity Pay creates secure payments ecosystem; meets 2021 Nacha requirements for ACH transactions, increased anti-fraud controls

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – January 15, 2021 – Finicity, a Mastercard company and leading provider of open banking solutions, and SWBC, an international financial services company, announced today that SWBC will utilize Finicity Pay™ for instant account verification of online Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments to satisfy the National Automated Clearing House Association’s (Nacha) 2021 requirements for ACH transactions, which allows for stronger anti-fraud controls. 

Finicity Pay, an integrated solution set of Finicity’s open banking platform, will help SWBC create a more secure ACH ecosystem through instant account verification, which verifies account status and details needed for an ACH transfer and supports the immediate execution of ACH transactions. The solution replaces older methods of verification such as micro-deposits and pre-notification. SWBC will utilize Finicity Connect, a simple, consumer-centric open banking experience, to enable their consumers to digitally authenticate and permission their bank account information to securely expedite an ACH bank payment.

“The Nacha 2021 rule is intended to provide stronger anti-fraud controls leading to a more secure payment experience,” said Finicity CEO and Co-founder Steve Smith. “Instant data verification is the best way to enable consumers to pay, get paid, or set up accounts. Our team is continually expanding our capabilities in money movement through our trusted open banking platform.”

SWBC provides financial institutions, businesses, and individuals a wide range of services, including insurance, mortgages, wealth management, employee benefits and more. Among its services, the company offers an enterprise payment solution platform for receiving payments—both ACH and card-based payments via call-center, website, interactive voice response (IVR), mobile, or cash.

“Providing secure and efficient access to the initiation of ACH payments is essential for today’s consumer,” said SWBC Vice President of Product Strategy Tucker Stovall. “Our partnership with Finicity will allow SWBC to deliver new security capabilities protecting consumers and the institutions that serve them. In addition, instant verification allows for speedy enrollment and immediate access to ACH transaction initiation, a significant improvement to the user experience.”

Nacha manages the development, administration and governance of the ACH Network, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the United States. Finicity and SWBC are Nacha Preferred Partners, recognized for offering products and services that align with Nacha’s core strategies to advance the ACH Network.

Beginning in March 2021, Nacha will implement a new rule—referred to as the WEB Debit Rule—requiring businesses that debit funds via ACH for online orders to implement enhanced fraud protection through account verification.

Specifically, Nacha will require businesses to include, at minimum, account validation on first-use as part of a commercially reasonable fraudulent transaction detection system. Out of the core accepted types of verifications—manual, microdeposits, prenotes, database verification, and instant account verification—Finicity offers consumer-permissioned instant account verification that will be utilized by SWBC. 

To learn more about Finicity, its data services, and its commitment to fast, reliable and high-quality data, visit www.finicity.com

About Finicity

Finicity, a Mastercard company, helps individuals, families, and organizations make smarter financial decisions through safe and secure access to fast, high-quality data. The company provides a proven and trusted open banking platform that puts consumers in control of their financial data, transforming the way we experience money for everything from budgeting and payments to investing and lending. Finicity partners with influential financial institutions and disruptive fintech providers alike to give consumers a leg up in a complicated financial world, helping to improve financial literacy, expanding financial inclusion, and ultimately leading to better financial outcomes. Finicity is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more or test drive its API, visit www.finicity.com

About SWBC

As a diversified financial services company, SWBC provides financial institutions, businesses, and individuals a wide range of services, including insurance, mortgages, wealth management, employee benefits, and more. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, SWBC has partners and divisions across all 50 states and manages business around the world. No matter how wide its reach, SWBC always listens to its customers’ needs, analyzes their current situations, and recommends customized solutions. For more information about our innovative approach to personalized service, visit SWBC’s website at swbc.com.