A Scottish money advice charity is piloting the use of open banking technology from Experian to quickly gather a picture of its users' financial positions.
Money Advice Scotland's new webchat service uses Experian’s open banking tool, the Affordability Passport, to gather crucial income and expenditure data, as well as a statement of consumer credit debts.
The process takes minutes, as opposed to the weeks and months it can take to gather the information over several advice appointments, significantly speeding up the initial stages of debt advice.
David Hilferty, deputy CEO, Money Advice Scotland, says: “Our service presents the opportunity to bring speed and precision to the process of understanding a full picture of someone’s financial circumstances.
“Making use of open banking means we can help the client get this information in a matter of minutes, so they are prepared for their first appointment and can start getting help straight away. We hope this can free up valuable time for agencies to focus on specialist advice.”
Lisa Fretwell, MD, data services, Experian, adds: “Talking about debt is an awkward conversation for people in financial difficulty, and the stress of rummaging through kitchen drawers to find the right paperwork is just another barrier to them getting help.
"Using our advanced analytics technology, Money Advice Scotland can remove that hurdle and get accurate, up-to-date insights on the financial position people are in, so they can plot the best route to get them back on track.”