PODCAST | TransUnion Africa boss discusses new credit score partnership with MTN

TransUnion’s bid to include and capture more people in SA’s now-mature lending market is the focus of this edition of Business Day Spotlight. 

Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Lee Naik, TransUnion Africa’s CEO. 

Last week, TransUnion Africa in partnership with MTN and its digital platform business, Chenosis announced the creation a new type of credit score that uses mobile call records to make lending decisions.

The TransUnion Telco Data Score, call data records (CDR), which reflected patterns in mobile phone network usage behaviour, and correlated it to an individual’s financial behaviour.

The partnership says this alternative is not meant to replace the traditional credit scoring model; rather, give more holistic view of a person or entity applying for a loan.

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Naik, a veteran in SA’s tech sector, said the goal was to prove the model’s commercial viability, starting in SA, with plans to roll this out across the African continent, working with multiple mobile providers.

He also details what it has taken to build the platform, how the partnership works and contribution to increasing financial inclusion. 

TransUnion Africa says traditional scoring models often fail to assess this segment accurately, leaving more than 16-million adults outside the formal credit system.

Through the discussion, Naik outlines challenges with the traditional credit scoring; the rationale for partnering with MTN; the value of mobile call records in assessing credit risk; and plans for future growth. 

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

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