VantageScore Expands New Open-Banking Credit Score for Lending to Underserved Borrowers

• VantageScore 4Plus Credit Model Enables Seamless Access to Open Banking Data
• Initial Pilot Data Shows Improved Predictive Lift for Thin, Inactive Credit Files
• Previously Declined Applicants May Benefit from "Second Look" Use Case

WASHINGTON and SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- VantageScore today announced the expansion of their groundbreaking VantageScore 4plus pilot program for lenders launched in partnership with Credit Builders Alliance.  The pilot leverages the industry leading VantageScore 4.0 credit score with open banking data to deliver the new VantageScore4Plus credit score model.

"Our collaboration gives nonprofit lenders access to modern, high-quality credit scores, equipping them to better serve their communities while maintaining sound lending practices," said Dara Duguay, CEO of Credit Builders Alliance. "When you add real-time, permissioned data to the credit decisioning process, you not only improve predictive performance-you also create more opportunities for expanding responsible access to credit."

"Nonprofit lenders need tools that are both inclusive and predictive," said Andrada Pacheco, EVP and Chief Data Scientist at VantageScore. "This initiative validates the idea that when enhancing credit file with cash flow data, lenders can expand credit access responsibly without incurring additional losses."

Initial data from the pilot show meaningful improvements in the ways nonprofit lenders can assess and serve potential borrowers. Key insights include:

Improved Predictive Lift: Applicants with new to credit, thin or inactive credit files, who make up 15% of participants in the pilot program, benefitted significantly from the addition of open banking data.

Clearer Risk Segmentation: Credit scores moved in both directions both up and down. There were nearly equal numbers of consumers seeing increases and decreases. The result signals better separation between higher- and lower-risk applicants.

Expanded Decisioning Opportunities: 44% of previously declined applicants could be reconsidered under a "second look" strategy using VantageScore 4plus, potentially unlocking credit while preserving underwriting rigor reducing risk.

To learn more about the program or VantageScore 4plus, visit www.creditbuildersalliance.org or vs4plus.vantagescore.com. 

About Credit Builders Alliance
Credit Builders Alliance (CBA) is a national nonprofit network dedicated to helping mission-driven lenders connect their clients to the modern credit system. Through tools, training, and advocacy, CBA supports hundreds of organizations working to improve credit access and financial health across the country.

About VantageScore®
VantageScore is the fastest-growing credit scoring company in the U.S., and is known for the industry's most innovative, predictive, and inclusive credit score models. In 2023, usage of VantageScore increased by 42% to more than 27 billion credit scores. More than 3,400 institutions, including 8 of the top 10 banks, use VantageScore credit scores to provide consumer credit products including credit cards, auto loans, personal loans and mortgages. The VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring model scores 33 million more people than traditional models. With the FHFA mandating the use of VantageScore 4.0 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed mortgages, the company is also ushering in a new era for mortgage lending and helping to close the homeownership gap.   

VantageScore is an independently managed joint venture company of the three Nationwide Consumer Reporting Agencies (NCRAs) – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  

SOURCE VantageScore