Economics / Finance. Equifax has acquired AccountScore, a transaction data analysis and open banking company

Through this acquisition, Equifax will improve its offering of commercial and consumer products, combining traditional information from its credit files with bank transaction data provided by AccountScore.

Incorporating these new data assets will allow companies greater ability to automate consumer income verification. Consequently, they will be able to make more detailed assessments of borrowing and spending capacity to provide a more predictive and comprehensive credit score.

For consumers, the mixed data approach will enhance their ability to prove their creditworthiness by incorporating information that is not currently used. This will enable financial inclusion of people with “weak” credit files, increasing their access to credit at a time of great financial uncertainty.

Equifax President for Europe, Patricio Raymond, noted that “this is an important moment” for Equifax. “The acquisition of AccountScore, our long-standing partner in Open Banking, is an important step we are taking to expand our data and analytics capabilities,” he said.

“More than 2.5 million consumers and businesses in the UK are already using open banking-based products to manage their finances, access credit and make payments. This growth helps empower a generation of consumers, who now have more control over your financial information to access a wider range. Of banking and credit products, “added the head of Equifax for Europe.

AccountScore CEO Emma Steele specified that the acquisition will allow AccountScore “to accelerate its growth and reach new clients, with the support of a global leader such as Equifax”.

The acquisition puts Equifax at the forefront of the latest trends in “smart data”, including the move from “open banking” to “open financing”, to integrate data on additional financial services products such as insurance, pension or mortgage policies.