Validation tests are occurring now, and they indicate customers will receive three-to-five times the incremental improvement in risk prediction typically generated by an enhanced scoring model. The service will be available for full implementation in March 2011. Over the preceding two decades, FICO and TransUnion have partnered to deliver a unique combination of powerful analytics, agile service infrastructure and robust data to an extensive customer base in Canada, which includes leading national, regional and international lenders.

The new version of the FICO® Score adapts the latest predictive analytics technologies and scoring blueprints from FICO to the specific dynamics of the Canadian market. With TransUnion's database, covering the entire Canadian credit population, the new score captures the latest risk patterns and offers more predictive risk assessment, especially in support of new account originations, new-to-credit populations and line-of-credit portfolios. The FICO® 8 Score evaluates line of credit accounts separately from other revolving credit instruments—like credit cards—since consumers use these products differently. In addition, the score evaluates consumers with relatively few credit accounts differently from consumers with more mature credit histories, in order to improve risk identification.

Today, FICO delivers nearly 350 million FICO® Scores to clients throughout Canada annually. Canadian credit grantors use FICO® Scores across the entire credit lifecycle, from booking new accounts to managing current customers. Nine of the top 10 Canadian lenders use the FICO® Score, and major Canadian lenders have committed to evaluate and plan their adoption of the new FICO® 8 Score.

"TransUnion and FICO have long collaborated to deliver some of the most sophisticated risk analytics solutions to Canadian financial services companies," said Thomas Higgins, TransUnion's Vice President of Analytics and Decisioning. "Once again, we are combining our best-in-class service infrastructure with a new version of the FICO Score, to help lenders enhance decision making and improve their bottom line."

"We have had a strong presence in Canada for more than 20 years and during that time, with broad collaboration from TransUnion, we have established FICO as the leading provider of credit scores in the country," said Jordan Graham, executive vice president of Scores for FICO. "TransUnion has built an extensive credit history database that covers the entire Canadian population and, as a result, unleashes the full power of the new FICO 8-based score for our customers."

Clients can easily upgrade to the new version of the FICO® 8 Score to take advantage of the added features and performance. The joint FICO-TransUnion service has been designed to integrate seamlessly into a client's established credit processes with minimal IT and operational support, delivering advanced predictive power with a minimum of implementation costs.

"Our Canadian clients tell us consistently about their desire to build their decision management systems on the most trusted score model available," said Kathleen Stares, vice president and head of FICO Canada. "We understand and appreciate the value they place on advanced predictive analytics, and are pleased to be able to offer them FICO 8, the global industry standard, through our partnership with TransUnion.