FICO® Score Facts
Learn about the 12 most commonly missed FICO® Score facts
12 commonly missed FICO® Score facts
FICO is an independent analytics company. We are not a credit bureau, and we are not owned by the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
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By leveraging both traditional data in our suite of FICO® Scores and alternative data in FICO Scores, such as the UltraFICO® Score, we can score more people than the competition – period. 27+ million consumers are newly FICO scoreable, and 90% (232M) of the credit eligible U.S. population can be scored by our suite of FICO® Scores.
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FICO has always supported and worked toward a more inclusive financial system. FICO has been spearheading efforts to safely and securely help consumers gain access to mainstream financial products, while helping lenders expand their customer base through new scoring innovations. We have been on the forefront of financial inclusion innovation through the use of alternative data, researching various new data sources over the last two decades culminating in new and innovative FICO® Scores, most recently with the launch of UltraFICO® Score in 2018. FICO continues to offer pilot programs for the scores to help speed up the process of adoption by lenders and continues to receive industry awards for innovative Scoring analytics.
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- Leading Inclusive Innovation & Consumer Wellness Empowerment
- FICO Scores: From Industry Invention to Future-Proof Independent Metric
- Financial Inclusion Using Analytics
- Innovation Never Sleeps: Why We Redevelop the FICO Score
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Since 2014, all new versions of the FICO® Score have included reported rental data and these FICO Scores have been used in hundreds of millions of credit related transactions.
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The inclusion of reported telco and utility payment information dates back to the release of the very first FICO® Scores in 1989.
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The UltraFICO® Score was designed to consider consumer permissioned data, such as checking & savings (demand/deposit) account data, to help provide a more comprehensive view of consumer credit readiness.
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FICO® Score models are developed using depersonalized credit bureau data. FICO carefully selects model input variables designed to be neutral, objective, and predictive of credit risk performance. Our FICO® Score models never use variables that are prohibited bases (or proxies) under fair lending laws (including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act), such as race or national origin. Specifically, FICO Scores do not consider zip code or any other data on geographic location.
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We supported score transparency with our industry-leading FICO® Scores launched directly to consumers through myFICO.com in 2000. Then, again, with our FICO® Score Open Access program launched in 2013. Hundreds of lenders in the U.S. are part of this program, where FICO Scores used by financial institutions are shared with consumers for free.
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FICO® Score models and Lenders’/Fintechs’ proprietary custom models are designed for different purposes. Each can bring unique and complementary value to credit decisions. The FICO Score is the independent universal language used across the credit ecosystem.
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- FICO Scores: From Industry Invention to Future-Proof Independent Metric
- The FICO Score and Alternative Data: Opening the Sales Funnel Is One Thing, Mitigating Risk Is Another
- FICO Scores are Objective, Relevant, and Reliable: Why You Need Them Throughout the Credit Cycle
- FICO Fact: Can unconstrained AI/ML expand access to credit?
- Credit Scoring, FinTech, and Consumer Loans: Why AI Scoring Models Do Not Replace the FICO Score
Over the last 30 years, FICO has continued to analyze the minimum amount of credit bureau data that is necessary to deliver a reliable, predictive FICO® Score to the market - which benefits both consumers and lenders alike.
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FICO first started offering scores that include trended data in 2016 with FICO® Auto Score 9 XT, and most recently with FICO® Score 10 T in 2020. While the FICO® Score has been trusted by consumers, lenders and investors for decades, the data that goes into a FICO® Score can be as recent as a payment reported by your lender today.
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A FICO® Score is one of several factors that may be considered by a lender when making a credit decision. FICO Scores remain the most widely used in the securitization market.
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