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Introducing v2.0 of our Affordability API
The intelligence that underpins our Affordability API has moved on in leaps and bounds - so we're releasing a new version that's both easier to integrate into clients' existing lending flows and far more powerful.
New to the platform: Introducing the Benefits Finder API
For lenders, particularly those with a traditionally thin-file customer base, developing a nuanced picture of customer income is crucial. Our Benefits Finder API is the first on the market to identify all 31 of the main UK benefits reliably.
What is Rent Recognition, and how does it work?
Written by Sam Oakley
Unlock credit for tenants by combining our rent finder, landlord verification and rent profile services with approved credit reference partners.
Unlock credit for tenants by combining our rent finder, landlord verification and rent profile services with approved credit reference partners.
Later today, we’ll be in parliament (thanks to the great team at Trussle) talking about how the financial services industry can help improve mortgage accessibility, so it felt like a good time to release more details around how we’re helping people harness the power of their data to achieve the same goal.How did all this come about?
In response to a private rental sector that continues to expand, in the 2017 Autumn Budget, HM Treasury announced the Rent Recognition Challenge — a £2 million Prize Fund, open to all, challenging firms to develop applications to enable rental tenants to record and share their rental payment data with lenders and credit reference agencies. Bud was one of the 3 winners chosen to do so.
The resultant ‘Rent Recognition’ service is a solution renters can use to help them on the way to home ownership. It allows regular rent payments to be recognised by credit reference agencies and lenders and, in turn, build credit history along the way.
It doesn’t begin and end with mortgages either. For many, rent is the largest outgoing every month; through recognising it via an official channel, people are able to get better access to all types of credit — not just in relation to the home-buying journey.
Why is it needed?
In the UK today, more than 1 in 3 young adults face the very real possibility that they may never own a home.
Privately-rented properties continue to grow in number and, when combined with wider issues such as the stagnation of real-wages and the rising price of property across the country, the UK finds itself in the midst of a rental crisis. It’s a complex issue, and one we explore in greater detail here.
How does it work?
Once a user sets up a rental profile, Bud’s ability to analyse transactional data means that their rent payments can be identified and verified.
This data is then sent to credit reference agencies to officially ensure these rent payments contribute positively to building the credit history of users that need it.
What technology is used?
Open banking APIs — using open banking APIs to give people access to their financial data
Rent Finder API — uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Bud’s regular payment API to detect and verify a user’s rent payments
Regular payment API — automatic identification of recurring payments
Network APIs —uses Bud’s network of partners to verify landlord information and report to credit reference agencies
For more information regarding Rent Recognition, or a detailed download via our API documentation, get in touch.
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