Permanent TSB selects Experian’s banking categorisation tech

By Megha Bhattacharya

Irish personal finance provider Permanent TSB has selected Experian’s banking categorisation technology to boost its customer lending journeys. Experian’s Categorisation as a Service (CaaS) automatically categorises the customer’s income and expenditure to allow lenders to understand a person’s financial situation, thus enhancing the speed of decision making in the customer journey.

Experian’s Martin Hagerty said, “Financial providers have always sought to understand a person’s track record, their willingness to pay and their ability to pay. For many years, credit bureau data has helped answer two of these questions and now this service will help lenders to truly understand affordability.

“Categorising income and expenditure will allow lenders to see whether a person’s income is stable or indeed has fallen significantly, or if their burden of non-discretionary spending is beginning to become a problem for them. We’re pleased to be working with Permanent TSB so they can continue to make high-quality decisions on affordability at an improved speed.”

According to the personal finance provider, categorised data will deliver an improved customer experience and serve people faster compared to traditional processes. The service will work across all product lines, including personal financial management. The categorisation engine is an Irish-specific version and is the first in the market within the Republic of Ireland. It is expected to complement Experian’s UK version, but it can also recognise local country transactions and retailers following extensive training and development.

Mike Frawley, Chief Risk Officer at Permanent TSB, said, “This partnership with Experian builds on the bank’s digital focus, offers our customers quicker response times and enhances our automated lending journeys.”