D•One, the open banking business unit from The ClearScore Group, has announced a partnership with 118 118 Money to provide open banking connectivity and transaction categorisation intelligence.

118 118 Money specialises in loans and credit cards for the underserved near-prime market. It will take open banking data for prospective borrowers from D•One so that it can assess affordability for prospective borrowers, both on its site and via the ClearScore marketplace. 

D•One supplies 118 118 Money with bank transaction data at the beginning of customers' loan and credit card searches. This data is then processed by 118 118 Money to make more informed decisions, enabling broader access to affordable loans while significantly reducing credit risk.

Tim Kelleway, Director at D•One, said: “We are helping lenders such as 118 118 Money make affordability assessments in milli-seconds, resulting in a fairer assessment of borrower risk and a smoother process for customers. Our expertise in transaction categorisation and making sense of the huge volumes of banking data available is driving better outcomes for borrowers and more sophisticated pricing and risk management for lenders.”

Mark Northfield, Director of Customer Growth at 118 118 Money, said: “Our strategic partnership with D•One enhances our affordability and creditworthiness strategies, allows us to make informed, responsible lending decisions and say ‘yes’ to more customers who may have been overlooked elsewhere. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and data, we aim to promote financial inclusion, provide fair and accessible credit, and empower more individuals to achieve their financial goals.

“At 118 118 Money, we are constantly seeking innovative solutions to deliver better outcomes for our customers. The use of third-party data, combined with our partnership with D•One, underscores this commitment.”

D•One provides the most comprehensive suite of Open Banking connectivity in the UK and has an advanced deterministic categorisation model developed over 12 years and with over 7 billion transactions. Lenders such as Abound, Zopa, Plend and Salad Money can leverage these capabilities both on and off the ClearScore platform. D•One works seamlessly in a lender’s own digital estate as well as in ClearScore’s own credit marketplace.

D•One operates a modern and fully cloud-based tech stack with micro-services architecture for maximum speed and reliability. Its open banking connection and categorisation services are available to lenders and/or introducer partners to support credit brokering and application processes across the market - delivering consistent functionality and decisioning solutions across all channels.