Consumers Who Get Their FICO Scores Through Open Access Program Exhibit Increased Brand Loyalty

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE:FICO), a leading predictive analytics and decision management software company, today showcased results from First Bankcard and Barclaycard indicating that consumers who regularly see their FICO^® Scores are more engaged, increasingly loyal and make positive changes in credit management behavior, resulting in improved FICO scores. Analysis of consumers in the FICO^® Score Open Access program shows that they had fewer delinquencies than consumers who don't view their FICO Score.    

"We believe in transparency and open communication with our customers, which is why we were thrilled to join the FICO Score Open Access program and provide our customers with free FICO Scores," noted Caitlyn Ramey, director at First Bankcard, a division of First National Bank of Omaha.  "You can't manage your credit responsibly if you don't know your FICO Score. Customers who are viewing their FICO Scores are demonstrating a high level of engagement with First Bankcard."

"FICO® Scores are the most widely used credit scores in the U.S. financial industry, and provides critical information we believe our cardmembers should be able to access freely," said Jim Saltysiak, director, Value Added Services at Barclaycard.  "The success of this program has been phenomenal. Customer engagement has exceeded expectation.  Simply put, the program has given our cardmembers a deeper understanding of credit and has equipped them with the tools to guide and track their progress."  

First Bankcard and Barclaycard were among the first lenders to join the FICO^® Score Open Access program in 2013 to provide free FICO^® Scores to millions of customers. By early 2015, 60 million customers will be receiving free FICO scores from their auto loan, student loan and credit card lenders.

"One year later, FICO Score Open Access is fulfilling its mission of helping consumers understand and manage their FICO Scores and overall credit health," said Jim Wehmann, executive vice president of Scores for FICO.  "Improving consumer awareness of credit health can lead to better financial management behavior. We are thrilled to have so many top lenders, including First Bankcard and Barclaycard, participating in this program."

Lenders who join FICO^® Score Open Access provide customers with the same FICO^® Scores they use to manage their customers' credit accounts.  The program also provides educational information, including actionable explanations that help consumers improve their FICO Scores over time.

With the launch of FICO^® Score Open Access, FICO began making many of the more than 10 billion FICO^® Scores generated annually available to consumers for free through leading financial companies.  These scores have a retail value of about $80 billion, making this one of the largest product giveaways in U.S. history.

About FICO
FICO (NYSE: FICO) is a leading analytics software company, helping businesses in 100+ countries make better decisions that drive higher levels of growth, profitability and customer satisfaction. The company's groundbreaking use of Big Data and mathematical algorithms to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries. FICO provides analytics software and tools used across multiple industries to manage risk, fight fraud, build more profitable customer relationships, optimize operations and meet strict government regulations. Many of our products reach industry-wide adoption. These include the FICO^® Score, the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States. FICO solutions leverage open-source standards and cloud computing to maximize flexibility, speed deployment and reduce costs. The company also helps millions of people manage their personal credit health. FICO: Make every decision count^™. Learn more at www.fico.com.

For FICO news and media resources, visit www.fico.com/news.

FICO and "Make every decision count" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and in other countries.

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