Zest AI and Equifax Partner to Further Access to Credit in Credit Union Lending
Zest AI, the leader in expanding access to credit through better scoring and winner of NACUSO's CUSO of the Year Award, today announced its partnership with Equifax®, Inc., a global data, analytics, and technology company. The partnership will enable credit unions using Zest AI's underwriting technology to consider more of the data sourced from Equifax to approve more applicants with greater speed, especially those who have been traditionally underbanked. This is the first major distribution partnership between Zest AI and a National Consumer Reporting Agency.
This new partnership with Equifax allows credit unions to directly access AI underwriting models tailor-made to serve their members using Zest AI's software alongside the Equifax consumer credit report, similar to how they access national credit scores today. This connectivity allows credit unions to choose AI powered underwriting, automating most of their lending decisions without needing massive IT modernization projects.
"As credit unions strive to be even more responsive to their members, Equifax and Zest AI's partnership gives them the ability to automate more inclusive lending outcomes and expand credit access, so that they can continue community-focused services their members expect," said Jose Valentin, Senior Vice President of Partnerships for Zest AI. "Credit unions are leading the charge among financial institutions to further financial inclusion and bring greater transparency and innovation to lending. Zest AI is excited to partner with Equifax to help them do just that."
Zest AI's technology helps each credit union make data-driven underwriting decisions tailored to the communities they serve. By using this technology, credit unions can analyze hundreds of data points in seconds and better determine lending decision outcomes. Credit unions using Zest AI's software see an average increase in approvals of over 25 percent and some have automated lending decisions fivefold. Zest AI's software also gives credit unions the ability to monitor and respond to shifts in market conditions. This capability helps keep them agile and responsive to their members during fluctuations in the economic cycle.