Bud Financial, the AI-based data intelligence platform, has been selected by embedded consumer lender Fluro to power its lending decision-making through open banking data and transaction AI. Fluro will integrate Bud's AI capabilities in account connection, categorisation and transaction analysis, to supercharge its decisioning engine and affordability assessments, for both existing and new customers.

Launched in 2014, Fluro serves over 37,000 customers and processes over 400,000 quote requests each month, having intermediated over £300 million in loans. Through Bud’s platform and deep AI capabilities, Fluro gains detailed insights and a holistic image of consumers’ financial context, through access to wider and clearer transactional and financial data, capitalising on the rising adoption of open banking in the UK. Using Bud’s AI-trained models, Fluro can access consumer permissioned data made available by open banking, to effectively help its customers gain fairer access to financial products and counteract the increasing pressures of the cost-of-living crisis

The pool of data traditionally available via credit bureaus excludes wide segments of consumers with thin-file or no credit history, potentially blocking their access to lending products. By introducing Bud's AI data capabilities, which use data intelligence services to identify and categorise customers income vs expenses, and discretionary vs non-discretionary spending, Fluro can now use real-time data insights to power up its affordability assessments. This enables the lender to make more accurate financial decisions by turning data into rich customer insights, and provides customers with a more inclusive and secure way to access financial services, such as unsecured personal loans and peer-to-peer lending products.

By partnering with Bud, Fluro’s customers can grant access to their real-time financial data by connecting their bank accounts, unlocking a clearer and more holistic view of their finances. This enables Fluro to simplify and automate affordability assessments and improve underwriting outcomes. Over 60% of Fluro’s customers have chosen to opt into open banking access to their financial information. Access to wider and real-time transactional data, analysed through Bud’s deep AI technology, empowers Fluro to build a more transparent, effective and fairer lending process, and to widen its pool of potential customers, accelerating commercial growth.

"At Bud, we aim to make credit simple and to improve people's financial wellbeing. We’re thrilled that this partnership empowers Fluro to supercharge its decisioning and underwriting practices. As consumers feel the continued pressures from current economic instability, a growing number of our society - those that are self-employed, in the gig economy, or those with a thin credit history, for example, are increasingly faced with challenges when it comes to accessing credit. By partnering with Bud, Fluro can use our advanced data intelligence capabilities to make accurate and fast decisions, improving borrower outcomes and helping consumers mitigate these challenges”, says George Dunning, COO and Founder of Bud.

Nick Harding, CEO and Co-Founder at Fluro, said:

“This partnership with Bud is another sign of our commitment to making sure that customers access loans safely and responsibly. In the face of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Bud's platform will provide us with an even more holistic view of consumers' financial profiles, enabling us to offer loans with real-time context, and with unparalleled speed and safety. This aligns with our mission as a business to leverage technology to simplify credit and improve the financial wellbeing of individuals. In today’s environment, it is crucial that lenders support customers who have fallen into difficulty but they also need to ensure that their underwriting criteria is constantly adapted to facilitate thorough affordability assessments."