Centrix delivers financial data win for New Zealand borrowers and lenders, powered by Envestnet® | Yodlee®

In a win for New Zealand borrowers and lenders, Centrix will be switching on live bank data feeds, powered by global data aggregator Envestnet®| Yodlee®.

Centrix is New Zealand’s leading credit bureau, with account payment data and credit information that covers 95% of New Zealanders as well as most credit-active companies

Envestnet | Yodlee is a leading global data aggregation and analytics platform for digital financial services. It is playing a key role in New Zealand’s emerging open banking regime and in Australia it is an active and accredited Consumer Data Right participant.

With the help of Envestnet | Yodlee, and the permission of the borrower, Centrix can now access transaction data directly from the borrower’s bank account to support up-to-date debt servicing and affordability checks based on actual income and expenditure, rather than self-reported estimates or proxies.

This proactive move by Centrix delivers several benefits to both borrowers and lenders and is an important step in ensuring Centrix remains at the cutting edge of credit reporting and decisioning tools for lenders, brokers and landlords in the New Zealand market. By permitting direct access to bank data, borrowers can save time and hassle when completing loan applications, and lenders can remain compliant with the enhanced consumer protections legislated by the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, which requires lenders to determine the affordability and suitability of a loan.

Monika Lacey, Chief Operating Officer at Centrix, said: “Our clients will start to see some specific benefits coming through such as a broad range of income and verification solutions, data and analytics to support new customer segments, and future-proofed lending that will harness open banking in New Zealand when that goes live.”

Taner Uzelakcil, Director of Business Development A/NZ at Envestnet | Yodlee, said: “We’re looking forward to working with Centrix to go deep with data and deliver global open banking trends and insights as well as world-class products and services designed especially for the New Zealand market.”

The importance of this move by Centrix is underscored by the current financial climate in New Zealand, as many Kiwi households are adjusting to the economic downturn, cost of living pressures, and higher interest rates. There is a strong mutual need for lenders and borrowers to protect themselves from bad debt.

“Our core mission is to help credit providers to monitor their risk and protect their cash flows,” said Ms Lacey. “With the help of Envestnet | Yodlee giving us access to thought leadership and global experience, as well as direct access to bank transactions, Centrix can improve its credit scoring to help lenders better understand their risk and manage their cash flows. We’ll also be able to improve our fraud and transaction monitoring tools for additional compliance benefits,” she said.