The two companies are integrating Zest Automated Machine Learning (ZAML) software with Data Access Point™, a DMS platform that makes it easy to create and deploy credit attributes and scorecards for automated decisions, risk assessment, and probability calculations.

ML credit models improve on traditional methods by using 100 times more data signals and sophisticated math to make more good loans and fewer bad ones. ZAML customers see an average 15% increase in approval rates with no added risk, as well as increases in booked loan rates due to more competitive pricing. Lenders using ZAML for risk reduction average 30% reductions in charge-off rates.

Getting these results from ML requires secure, consistent access to clean data, which is where DMS excels. Zest’s strength is in making ML transparent and safe to use. Together, DMS and Zest are making trusted ML credit scoring instantly accessible to thousands of lenders. DMS provides connections to more than 20 loan operating systems (LOS) and has connections with more than 40 data providers and all three credit bureaus. Lenders that rely on DMS to get the right data into their credit models can now switch to high-performing ML models with confidence that the results are accurate and compliant with lending rules and regulations.

”I believe this partnership will bring tremendous value to our clients,” said Mark Dreux, head of strategy and business development at DMS. “The ability to pair Zest’s ML capabilities with DMS’ standardized and normalized attributes, as well as our clients’ custom attributes via our CreditAnalyst™ tool, will be a big win for lenders in support of their risk management efforts.”

“This partnership will remove a big challenge of doing ML — getting the right data in the right format,” said Douglas Merrill, CEO and founder of ZestFinance. “Together we can help more lenders use ML to approve more good borrowers and control their underwriting risk.”