Metrics Monthly | March 2020 | AU Edition

Nesta Challenge winners Nesta’s Affordable Credit Challenge winners revealed

In November, we announced that LendingMetrics had partnered with community lender Fair For You and EML Payments as part of a challenge aimed at making credit more accessible and affordable.

The Affordable Credit Challenge , run by Nesta Challenges in partnership with HM Treasury, encourages fintech innovators to partner with community lenders and widen access to responsi- ble, affordable credit. We’re now delighted to publicise that LendingMetrics is involved in one of three winning partnerships between community lenders and fintechs that have secured cash prizes of £200,000 for developing innovative solutions that make credit more accessible and affordable, particularly for the most vulnerable. Our partnership with ethical lender Fair For You aims to make affordable credit more available to those who need it by offering a loan facility to provide buffer credit specifi - cally for an additional frozen food shop in school holidays, when low income

households often use high cost short term credit to cover spikes in grocery costs when children do not have access to free or subsidised school meals. Fair For You have been utilising Lend- ingMetrics’ portfolio of products and solutions to better understand each applicant and their suitability for the loan. In particular, they have used our multi-award-winning Auto Decision Platform (ADP) to make automated credit risk decisions, which is instru- mental in funding small, short-terms loans. In addition, their implementation of OpenBankVision allows Fair For You to gain valuable insight into patterns and trends in income and expenditure, to ensure that affordability – one of the key topics in our last issue of Metrics Monthly – is measured accurately. About the partnership, Neil Williams,

Chief Technology Officer at Lending - Metrics, said: “We’re really pleased for the opportunity to continue our work alongside Fair For You. Research has shown that many families are facing financial struggles, particularly during the school holidays, and it’s important that there is a way for these families to find an affordable way to borrow money. Fair For You’s ideas will be another step towards providing affordable credit to those who need it.” Fair For You, LendingMetrics and EML Payments ’ partnership was announced as a finalist for the challenge in Novem - ber and the organisations have since been working closely to pilot a trial of the scheme with a leading supermar- ket. Along with an initial £150,000 grant, the six finalists were also supported by Nesta Challenges and HM Treasury

06 | Metrics Monthly

March 2020 | AU Edition

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