Goodlord embeds Tink’s Open Banking technology to ‘modernise’ renting

UK-based rent-tech platform Goodlord has chosen Tink as its Open Banking partner, embedding Tink’s ‘Income Check’ technology into its reference checking to improve the process and its fraud detection capabilities.

Goodlord, which brings together the main parts of the letting process onto a single platform, first integrated Open Banking into its referencing offer in 2018.

This latest partnership will enable Goodlord to access up-to-date income data direct from tenants’ bank accounts, with the aim of simplifying the application process for tenants, agents and landlords.

Tink’s Income Check technology, which has already been fully embedded into Goodlord’s platform, instantly verifies a potential renter’s income if they consent to connecting to their bank account.

A renter’s incoming transactions over more than 12 months are instantly categorised as salary, pension, benefits, or cash deposits.

Nicola Harding, referencing operations manager at Goodlord said the rent-tech has long been an advocate of Open Banking technology.

“It plays a crucial role in both modernising the process for tenants, while also protecting agents and their landlords from fraud,” she said.

Tink’s Tasha Chouhan

Tasha Chouhan, Tink’s UK banking and lending director, added: “It’s great to see Goodlord continuing to pioneer the use of Open Banking, paving the way for fast, safe, and more accurate verification of income.

“In the current climate, it’s more critical than ever to have an up-to-date and comprehensive view of tenants’ finances, to know they can comfortably afford the rent.

“It also ensures those renters whose income payments are irregular, such as the self-employed or those working in the gig economy, have a fairer chance to secure a rental property.”

In April this year, European credit provider Younited, which has operations in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany, announced it will use Tink’s data aggregation and pan-European connectivity to improve the accuracy of affordability decisions.

In turn, applicants will have to share fewer documents when going through the credit application process.