FICO Reaches Milestone of 200 Million Consumers Financial Credit Accounts

Analytics software firm FICO recently announced that its FICO Score Open Access program has achieved a significant milestone in consumer financial empowerment – more than 200 million consumer credit and loan accounts in the U.S. now include free access to the FICO Scores used by lenders to manage those accounts.  The FICO Score Open Access program enables over 100 financial institutions to provide FICO Scores, for free, to existing customers.

“Consumers are empowered when they know their FICO Score,” said Paramita Bandyopadhyay, general manager consumer credit card, PNC Financial Services Group. “Since PNC began offering FICO Scores through digital channels to all consumer credit card customers in February, our customers have been able to make more informed purchasing and borrowing decisions to meet their personal and financial goals. Customers have reacted very positively to viewing their FICO Scores and we have been very pleased with the results.”

The FICO Score is the standard measure of U.S. consumer credit risk, and used in more than 90 percent of consumer lending decisions in the U.S. and in more than 25 countries. More than 10 billion FICO Scores are purchased in the United States each year by lenders for their risk management decisions. For more insights into how FICO Scores are relied on by lenders, investors, regulators, insurers, rating agencies and other stakeholders read the recent FICO blog.

“The FICO  Score Open Access program offers unprecedented transparency in credit scoring to educate, inform and empower consumers,” said Marie Morel-Seytoux, senior director, Scores, at FICO. “The program allows millions of consumers to see the exact same FICO Scores used by their lenders for risk management decisions.  This access helps consumers better understand their financial health and how lenders view their credit readiness.  There is no substitute.”

In addition, FICO Score Open Access provides consumers with regularly updated FICO Scores. These are the actual scores the lenders are using to manage their consumer accounts. The scores are accompanied by the most important factors affecting the score. Participating institutions are delivering the scores to consumers via a variety of channels, including online banking websites, mobile applications and paper statements.

U.S. financial institutions of all sizes are offering the FICO Score Open Access program to their customers as a way to empower them to better understand their financial health. Participants include credit card issuers, mortgage servicers, auto lenders, and student loan providers.  Participating lenders range from the country's largest banks and lenders to dozens of credit unions and startups.

Through its myFICO service and the FICO Score Open Access program, FICO helps millions of American consumers understand their credit health.