Equifax and Homely Partner to Power Platform for Aspiring Homeowners

Equifax and Homely partner to provide Open Banking and credit insights to help support first-time buyers and those moving up the property ladder with getting mortgage-ready.

Homely is working to advance and digitalise the home-buying process for UK consumers, making it simpler and more rewarding by combining data, rewards, education and recommendations to prepare people for homeownership. Through the partnership, Equifax will be supplying Homely with both Open Banking data and credit insights, including a consumer-facing score, affordability characteristics, and credit report data.

In particular, Equifax data will support aspiring buyers by helping to ensure rental payments are fully recognised and rewarded as part of customers’ credit and affordability scores. Equifax will also be powering the platform’s user registration journey with its Open Banking ID solution, to accurately verify customer identity.

Homely is expecting to launch its direct-to-consumer platform later this year, with connectivity to multiple lenders and home-buying schemes. The platform will also be available through white labelling for lenders and mortgage brokers.

Paul Birkin, Chief Technology Officer at Homely, said: “Supporting prospective homebuyers on their journey up the property ladder is more important than ever. The power of Equifax’s Open Banking technology and credit insights helps us to provide people with easy-to-understand actions to become home-ready, whether for their first mortgage or next property.”

Craig Tebbutt, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Equifax UK, said: “Homely is helping to advance the homebuying experience for people across the UK and we’re excited to help power their new platform with our credit score data and Open Banking solution. Building a transparent picture of customer affordability in the home-buying journey is vital, and solutions that recognise customer creditworthiness through rental payments history will help boost financial inclusion and unlock new markets for lenders along the way.”