Plaid partners with Prism Data

US data analytics start-up Prism Data has partnered with data network Plaid to help lenders make more informed credit decisions, using Open Banking data.

It comes just a week after Prism Data was spun off from credit card fintech Petal.

Prism Data’s ‘CashScore’ and ‘Insights’ products will integrate with Plaid’s ‘Relay Token’ product which allows for a token access model between Prism, its lending customers, and Plaid, for the safe retrieval of consumer-permissioned data.

Lenders use Plaid’s ‘Assets API’ to verify consumer-permissioned cashflow data, including detailed information about a borrower’s identity, assets, balances, and up to two years of transaction history, directly from their bank account.

However, by partnering, lenders will be able to more easily integrate consumer financial information shared via Plaid into Prism Data.

Once Prism receives the consumer-permissioned data from Plaid, it “structures and analyses it” before delivering to clients the insights and scores they need to build up a picture of a consumer’s creditworthiness.

Erin Allard, Prism Data’s general manager, said: “We’re making it simple for lenders to make better credit decisions, faster, using Prism and Plaid.

“With Plaid, lenders can focus on the big-picture questions about how Open Banking data can drive their businesses, and leave the data retrieval and analysis to trusted partners like Plaid and Prism.”

Tamara Romanaek, head of partnerships at Plaid, added: “With our partnership with Prism, not only are we able to help lenders simplify real-time consumer permissioned data retrieval, we’re also able to help those lenders access powerful analytics and actionable insights for underwriting. We’re thrilled to empower lenders with more robust access to cash flow data to improve borrower results.”

Prism’s ‘Insights’ are based on categorised bank account transactions which are then turned into trends, including details on income stability and timing, balance trajectories, savings rates, rental payments, and use of emerging forms of borrowing like buy now, pay later loans.