Helping the UK’s 23m under-served adults improve their affordability and access better offers

Our latest calculations estimate that 23 million people are now locked out of accessing mainstream credit — an increase of 3 million in just two years. The cost of living crisis, a consumer credit crunch, and the banking system’s inability to keep up with changes in society are three of the main drivers behind this growth.

And while reversing this trend won’t be easy, we believe there are solutions to help people get back on track, and the economy moving forward. Key to this is using open data in a way which works for borrowers and banks, giving relevant parties access to more accurate and meaningful information.?

Which is why we’re pleased to announce the launch of our third open banking use case. The new affordability insights feature gives customers a better understanding of where they stand, so they can improve their chances of being accepted for better credit products.

By connecting a bank account via the TotallyMoney app, customers will receive live insights into what’s impacting their affordability — both positively and negatively. We break this down into various categories, ranging from buy now pay later and gambling activity, to spending and savings, and provide customers with their own, personalised affordability plan.

Open banking data is a considerable improvement on the traditional credit reporting system, and the new affordability insights feature marks another way in which we’re putting customers in control of their own data. It follows the launch of the Monitor tool, and open banking data decision making we’re enabling for our lending partners.