Equifax Integrates Mastercard Open Finance to Expand Credit Access for 76 Million Consumers

Equifax is integrating Mastercard Open Finance insights into its open banking suite, allowing lenders to combine consumer-permissioned cash flow data with traditional credit files. For fintechs, this provides a clearer picture of the 76.1 million "credit invisible" Americans, potentially expanding credit access through more granular, real-time intelligence and flexible provider options.

What was announced

Equifax has expanded its open banking capabilities by incorporating consumer-permissioned insights enabled through Mastercard Open Finance. This integration is designed to give lenders and fintech companies greater flexibility in selecting an open finance provider to use alongside the standard Equifax consumer credit file. Specifically, three Mastercard Open Finance tools—Cashflow Analytics, Payment Risk Insights, and the Transaction Report—are now available to Equifax customers in the United States.

The suite is built to address the needs of the 76.1 million U.S. consumers who are considered "thin-file" or credit invisible. By utilizing bank transaction data, lenders can gain visibility into financial behaviors that traditional credit reports might miss. The expanded solutions include:

• Cashflow Analytics: This tool examines up to 24 months of a consumer’s credits, debits, and balances to generate specific cash flow attributes for use in underwriting.
• Payment Risk Insights: This provides a score aimed at helping financial institutions predict repayment risk and identify early indicators of financial stress.
• Transaction Report: This delivers more than six months of cleansed and categorized bank transaction data, allowing lenders to build their own custom decisioning models based on cash flow.

The initiative aims to streamline the approval process by converting complex transaction streams into actionable intelligence that can be integrated directly into existing underwriting stacks. This approach allows financial institutions to tailor their data usage based on the specific risk profile of different products, such as personal loans, credit cards, or commercial lines of credit.

"Financial institutions have diverse operational needs, meaning a single cash flow partner does not necessarily fit each organization's needs. Our goal is to give our customers the flexibility to choose the open finance provider that works for them and provide that data alongside Equifax credit and alternative data to make confident decisions that can open up new opportunities for consumers,"

Jacob Osborne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Fintech and Payments at Equifax.

The companies involved

Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EFX). While headquartered in the United States, the firm maintains a significant international presence, including operations in the United Kingdom. Traditionally known as one of the "Big Three" consumer credit reporting agencies, Equifax has increasingly focused on diversifying its data assets to include alternative data sources and open banking insights. This shift is intended to provide a more comprehensive view of consumer creditworthiness beyond traditional loan repayment history.

Mastercard, through its Open Finance division, provides the infrastructure and connectivity required for consumer-permissioned data sharing. By collaborating with Equifax, Mastercard extends the reach of its cash flow analytics tools into the core underwriting workflows of major lenders. This partnership reflects a broader industry trend where established financial giants are collaborating to standardize how non-traditional data is ingested and utilized across the lending ecosystem. The focus for both entities remains on leveraging real-time transaction data to bridge the gap for consumers who lack a robust traditional credit history.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed Equifax’s efforts to modernize its data intelligence and security frameworks. In September 2026, the publication reported that Equifax Debuts Real-Time Signal Scores to Combat Automated Fraud and Account Takeovers, a move that highlighted the company's focus on real-time risk mitigation. Earlier that year, Equifax demonstrated its commitment to global scale through a strategic move covered in Equifax and GBG Expand Global Partnership. The company has also been involved in broader industry innovation initiatives, such as when FinTech Scotland Launches Global Innovation Call for Responsible AI in Financial Services, reflecting a wider sector interest in the responsible application of advanced analytics and AI in the financial services sector.

What this means

This announcement signals a fundamental shift in the credit bureau landscape from data gatekeeping to data orchestration. By allowing lenders to choose their preferred open finance provider while still utilizing the Equifax core file, the industry is moving away from the "one-size-fits-all" model of credit scoring. This move puts significant pressure on other major credit bureaus to offer similar interoperability and multi-vendor support. However, as the sector moves toward these consumer-permissioned models, it faces an open question regarding "consent fatigue." The industry must determine how to maintain high levels of consumer participation as more fintechs request deep, ongoing access to personal transaction histories.