Equifax Australia has partnered with consumer readiness platform Occubuy to help renters use their rent payment history to demonstrate mortgage readiness.
The collaboration makes Occubuy one of the first partners to use Equifax’s new Open Score product.
Equifax developed Open Score, built on Mastercard’s open finance infrastructure. It uses Consumer Data Right (CDR) transaction data to show a person’s overall financial health.
The arrangement lets renters use their track record of on-time rent payments and savings habits. This helps them show credit readiness when applying for a home loan.
Current credit evaluation practices do not capture rental repayment consistency. This leaves renters with thin credit files and makes it harder for lenders to assess their borrowing capacity.
Open Score lets consumers share consented bank transaction data. This adds a view of financial discipline alongside traditional credit reporting data.
“By moving beyond the existing credit assessment criteria and leveraging consented open banking data, Open Score aims to help turn everyday financial discipline into a tangible asset. Partnering with Occubuy puts this insight directly into the hands of renters,”
said Melanie Cochrane, CEO and Group Managing Director of Equifax A/NZ.
Through Occubuy’s platform, members earn points for on-time rent payments and consistent saving. These points carry redemption value toward a first home purchase.
Occubuy has more than 20,000 members and works across a network of over 30 housing and finance partners.
“By pairing our consumer rewards and readiness platform with Equifax Australia’s Open Score and Mastercard’s open finance platform, we’re turning daily money discipline into real progress toward a deposit,”
said Dr Amy Shi-Nash, co-founder and CEO of Occubuy.
Equifax and Occubuy are inviting lenders, mortgage brokers, insurers and proptech platforms to join the pilot program.
This gives industry partners early access to applicants backed by financial insights from Open Score.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Australia, based on image lenblr via Magnific
