CHICAGO — TransUnion and FICO have rolled out a new credit scoring system called FICO Auto Score 9 XT. Based on TransUnion’s CreditVision trended data, the new score is specifically designed for the auto finance marketplace and includes several new features.
The new score leverages trended data assets that provide an expanded view of credit data with up to 30 months of historical information, including dollars paid, amount paid vs. minimum due and the total amount borrowed over time on each loan account. Traditional credit systems only offer a glimpse of a consumer at a snapshot of time, according to the two firms.
“We are excited to collaborate with FICO to make their score available through CreditVision for the auto finance community,” said Steve Chaouki, executive vice president of TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “Now, lenders and dealers will have a familiar FICO score through which to communicate the predictive power of TransUnion CreditVision. The score will help lenders fund more auto loan transactions at competitive rates, benefitting consumers, dealers and lenders.”
The new credit scoring system also ignores collection agency accounts that have been paid off. It also differentiates unpaid medical accounts that have gone into collection from unpaid nonmedical accounts that have gone into collection.
“We’ve worked with TransUnion on a score that examines the way a consumer’s behavior is evolving,” said Jim Wehmann, executive vice president of scores at FICO. “This helps creditworthy consumers qualify for the best credit terms available to them, and helps auto lenders expand their portfolios safely by making more precise decisions about loan terms.”
That means the new score can reveal trends and behaviors, such as consumers making on-time payments, paying more than the minimum amount due, reducing total amounts borrowed or decreasing utilization over time.
The new score will also be made available through national credit reseller ProMax Unlimited. “TransUnion CreditVision is already available now to any dealer through ProCredit Express, and we will make FICO Auto Score 9 XT available in 2016,” said John Palmer, president and CEO of ProMax Unlimited and ProCredit Express.
