Equifax UK & Canopy to include rental payment data in credit assessments

By Megha Bhattacharya

Equifax UK has teamed up with FinTech Canopy to include rental payment data in its credit assessments. The collaboration will enable tenants to boost their credit score by reporting their rental payments data to Equifax through the Canopy RentTracking platform. Tenants will also have access to Canopy’s free Open Banking-based rental budgeting app, designed to help them reduce their household bills.

Janice Rudd, Data Director at Equifax UK, said, “We’re very pleased to partner with the Canopy team given their commitment to financially empower millions of rental households. The inclusion of rental data in credit assessments is a welcome and progressive move. Just like individuals with a mortgage, renters who make full and timely monthly payments should also see a noticeable benefit in proving their ability to repay a financial commitment.”

Canopy’s RentTracking feature promotes a more inclusive financial society by allowing potential lenders to get a more informed and up-to-date view of an individual renter’s affordability.

Recently, Equifax UK teamed up with UK consumer FinTech and payment card app Curve in a bid to deliver verification and ID solutions to its personal finance product, Curve Credit. The offering allows consumers to pay later via instalments on transactions made with their Curve card. The agreement will provide Curve Credit with market-specific scores that assess a customer’s credit risk and affordability, helping to make accurate credit decisions at the point of application and allowing new customers to be onboarded quickly.

Tahir Farooqui, CEO and Founder at Canopy, commented, “The Canopy team is focused on enhancing tenants’ access to affordable financial products and accelerating a path to homeownership. Our partnership with Equifax is a significant milestone, enabling millions of renters in the UK market to use their monthly rental payments to improve their credit score – completely for free. There is no charge involved for tracking or reporting rental payments to the credit bureaus. This is especially pertinent with the pandemic bringing financial upheaval and uncertainty to huge numbers of households and renters.”