Experian to Launch Credit Score in UK That Includes Rental Payments

Experian UK&I is set to introduce a new credit score in the United Kingdom that will include rental payments and other financial behaviors in consumers’ daily lives.

The new Experian Credit Score will begin rolling out this month and will reach all U.K. consumers by the end of the year, the company said in a Monday (Nov. 3) press release.

The new model includes consumers’ habits around overdraft use, credit card cash advances, and payments on rent and phone contracts, according to the release.

It also features a score range of 0 to 1250, rather than the previous 0 to 999, to provide a more granular breakdown of financial behavior, the release said.

The new score will not affect consumers’ ability to get credit, per the release.

“Eligibility for things like mortgages, loans or credit cards remains the same,” the release said. “The updated score simply provides a more detailed view of people’s financial track record and the new information that banks and lenders have started using, offering new ways to strengthen it over time.”

Edu Castro, managing director of Experian Consumer Services, U.K. and Ireland, said in the release that the new score reflects the evolving ways people manage their money.

“Our new Experian Credit Score better reflects more of the everyday financial behaviors that matter — like paying rent or reducing overdraft use — offering a clearer understanding of the information on your credit report,” Castro said. “This means people get a more personalized view of how they’re doing financially and more practical ways to improve their score — helping unlock better borrowing opportunities for the future.”

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Subprime Borrowers Flock to Alternative Options Due to High Credit Card Denial Rate” found that one-quarter of subprime consumers use credit for nonessential expenses with the specific intent of raising their credit score.

The report said this dynamic underscores the opportunity that exists for financial institutions to develop more inclusive and responsible strategies to serve this market segment.

In another recent move, Experian said in July that it was launching a new artificial intelligence-powered tool designed to help financial institutions better manage the complex credit and risk models they use to decide who gets a loan or how much credit someone should receive.

The Experian Assistant for Model Risk Management uses automation to create documents, check for errors and monitor model performance.