How Non-Standard Data Sources Benefit Creditors
LAS VEGAS – Think of it as another segment of NBC’s “The More You Know,” but for underwriting practices.
With the birth of more data sources, understanding customers should become easier and easier for creditors across the nation, and already, some lenders are using atypical data sources to assess customer risk.
Take Kabbage Inc., a company that provides funding to online merchants, like eBay sellers. Beyond utilizing credit bureau data, Kabbage “takes advantage of” eBay and PayPal data to verify customer identity, revealed Kathryn Petralia, chief operating officer and co-founder, during a presentation at SourceMedia’s Financial Services Collections & Credit Risk Conference held this week. By comparing the three data sources, the likelihood that the customer is who he says he is is greater, she relays. Additionally, using such data sources helps Kabbage determine advance amounts and related fees and interest.
And those aren’t the only resources Kabbage has its eyes on. Petralia said social networks offer valuable consumer insight for lenders, too.
“The most unbelievable thing about data is it’s free and customers want to give it,” Petralia said. “Social networks offer a wealth of data.”
As an extreme example, Petralia pointed to Blippy, a social network where users herald what they just bought. Because the site amasses a “ton of data,” Petralia says it is more Acxiom than Facebook.
Over time, such data has the potential to benefits creditors more and more. Perhaps consumers who play FarmVille on Facebook have better credit than those who play Mafia Wars, pondered Petralia. Although such data is unknown now, she says knowing such trends will be part of the financial future.
But even now, banks simply boasting Facebook pages can benefit their businesses, she touted. Why? When consumers become fans of their pages, banks can relay important company information, like their web sites are temporarily down, to improve customer service, as well as use the medium to collect consumer data, like status updates, from their fans to facilitate collections.
