Tink unveils ‘Expense Check’ tool

European Open Banking platform Tink has launched a new Open Banking-powered product, ‘Expense Check’, which provides lenders with access to real-time data to improve the accuracy of customer affordability assessments.

Expense Check is initially being rolled out in the Nordics and the UK, but Tink plans to follow up with a wider European rollout later.

The new tool allows banks and lenders to verify customers’ affordability “in a matter of minutes” at the point of application, by using Open Banking to link to applicants’ bank accounts.

Expense Check can be used in tandem with ‘Income Check’, a product launched by Tink in the UK earlier this year which enables businesses to use real-time current account data to verify income in only a few minutes.

“Having an up-to-date, holistic picture of someone’s financial situation is vital when it comes to making an accurate risk assessment,” Tasha Chouhan, UK and IE banking lead at Tink, said.

Tink’s Tasha Chouhan

“Not only does Expense Check streamline the way lenders process data, it also heightens user experience, with applicants benefiting from a simple, automated application process that doesn’t require any paperwork – and brings near-instant results.”

Chouhan added: “At the same time, because access to data enables lenders to make more accurate affordability decisions, it can help to make financial services more accessible, particularly for those with fluctuating incomes or thin credit history.”

Research published by Tink in July revealed that 28% of the UK’s self-employed struggle to access the financial services they require, while 27% feel they have been “actively discriminated against” while trying to access financial services.

According to Tink, twice as many self-employed people struggle to access the financial services they need versus the national average.