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The quest for a more comprehensive and inclusive view of consumer creditworthiness has taken a significant leap forward. FICO, the global analytics leader, has announced a strategic partnership with financial data network Plaid to launch the next generation of the cash flow-based UltraFICO® Score. This collaboration will merge the proven reliability of the traditional FICO Score with real-time, consumer-permissioned cash flow data from Plaid, providing lenders with a single, enhanced score for superior risk assessment.
FICO and Plaid partner to launch the next-generation UltraFICO® Score.
The score integrates real-time cash flow data from Plaid's network of 12,000+ financial institutions.
It provides a single, enhanced credit score on the familiar FICO scale for lenders.
The solution aims to offer a more comprehensive and inclusive view of credit risk.
It is designed for streamlined implementation, minimizing operational complexity for lenders.
The partnership represents nearly a year of strategic development to meet market demand.
The enhanced UltraFICO® Score is designed to address a key limitation of traditional credit scoring: its reliance on historical debt repayment data. By incorporating cash flow insights—historical and current information about money flowing in and out of a consumer's checking and savings accounts—the new score provides a broader perspective on financial stability. This data is accessed through Plaid's open finance network, which powers nearly one million secure financial connections daily, with user permission.
A critical advantage of this new solution is its design for seamless integration into existing lender workflows. The score is aligned with the flagship FICO® Score, meaning lenders can adopt cash-flow-based lending without lengthy new testing cycles or introducing unfamiliar risk scales. Julie May, vice president and general manager of B2B Scores at FICO, highlighted the strategic importance, stating, “By bringing together FICO’s trusted credit score intelligence with Plaid’s cash flow data, we’re creating the foundation for more comprehensive lending decisions. This is the beginning of a new chapter in responsible and inclusive lending.”
The partnership aims to eliminate operational complexity for financial institutions. The next-generation UltraFICO® Score will be universally compatible, allowing lenders to use the cash flow-enhanced model with the traditional FICO Score irrespective of their channel. It will be distributed through Plaid’s Consumer Reporting Agency, Plaid Check, offering a single, scalable solution. Adam Yoxtheimer, head of partnerships at Plaid, noted, “By combining Plaid’s real-time connectivity and intelligence with FICO... we are helping lenders make more confident, inclusive credit decisions through a simple and scalable solution.”
The collaboration between FICO and Plaid signals a major evolution in credit scoring. By fusing traditional credit data with dynamic cash flow insights, the new UltraFICO® Score has the potential to expand access to credit for consumers with thin credit files while providing lenders with a more robust, data-driven tool for managing risk.
FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top U.S. lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency.
Plaid is a data network that serves as the analytics layer for financial services. Plaid's data analytics solutions deliver faster, safer onboarding, credit decisioning, payments, and anti-fraud. Plaid works with thousands of companies, including fintechs, Fortune 500 companies, and many of the largest banks to empower people with more choice and control over how they manage their money. Headquartered in San Francisco, Plaid’s network spans over 12,000 institutions across the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe.
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