Fintech mortgage lender Gen H will include Experian’s Score Boost data in its credit decisioning to help more aspiring homeowners onto the property ladder.
The firm said that many prospective buyers were locked out of homeownership as credit scores do not meet a lender’s credit threshold.
Experian Boost accounts for recurring expenses like Netflix, Spotify or council tax, which don’t usually count towards credit scores, as evidence of “responsible money management” to build credit.
This means more customers below the minimum credit threshold will be able to increase their score enough to buy a home where they may not have been able to.
Using the Score Boost won’t adversely impact customer’s credit score.
Gen H is one of a few lenders using this technology, with Leeds Building Society also recently striking a partnership with Experian Score Boost.
Gen H’s chief commercial officer Peter Dockar (pictured) said: “We are working to remove the blockers faced by aspiring homeowners in this country – from income constraints to deposit constraints and now credit constraints – because in this market, buyers need all the help they can get.
“For some aspiring homeowners, Score Boost could be the difference between finally climbing onto the ladder or not. We’re already seeing cases in our pipeline that will benefit from the boosted credit scores. Buyers are commonly told to ‘just cancel Netflix’ to afford a mortgage. We say, don’t cancel it – keep it, report it, and use it to boost your credit.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
