An unscoreable consumer could become your next great member

Somewhere between 50 and 80 million U.S. consumers have little or no credit history. That’s somewhere in the range of 15 to 25 percent of the U.S. population. What this means is that a massive number of people in America are “unscoreable” by most traditional models.

At the same time, acquiring new members is becoming increasingly difficult for credit unions. Competition and financial consumer expectations have never been more complex and fast-moving.

What if there was a way for credit unions to avoid turning away “unscoreable” consumers for loans and other services? What if there was a way to welcome them without increasing a cooperative’s risk profile?

No Credit Does Not Mean Bad Credit

Just because a consumer is unscoreable by most traditional credit scoring models doesn’t mean he or she won’t be able to pay back a loan. Several alternative models available today can help a lender evaluate a consumer’s ability to repay. Below are some examples, along with the types of data they incorporate into their models:

 

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