Credit monitoring that's free to consumers may have some benefits as a source of retention, account growth and improved performance in ways that could appeal to some bank lenders and servicers, according
That's the broad industry takeaway from its recent study, which finds that more than half or 55% of consumers monitor their credit with the aim of opening a new account, nearly one-third or 30% do it to better manage debt and 15% do it to improve scores.
Furthermore, the study finds those consumers are more likely to meet those goals.
"What we found is that consumers who monitor their credit had a much higher rate of opening new accounts," said Charlie Wise, co-author of the study and head of global research and consulting at Transunion.
Credit seekers were 1.2 times more likely to open accounts than peers who didn't monitor. Debt managers reduced what they owed by an average of 11% within 12 months. Scores went up by 28 points in a year for people aiming to improve them, versus 23 for those who didn't monitor. Transunion defined peers as people with similarities in terms of credit score and age.
Lenders and servicers only have visibility into credit monitoring if their own customers are involved, so if the aim is to use it as an indicator of interest that can be proactively addressed, its value lies in use as a tool for retention or as a source of internal sales for banks selling multiple loan types.
Wise stressed that the study doesn't definitely show that people who monitor credit with the aim of opening accounts will do so, which lenders considering using it for that purpose must take into account when deciding whether to pay score providers for it.
"Did it enable them to have more accounts or was it more reflective of their desire to do that? It's hard to say," he said. "The analogy I like to use is joining a gym. It doesn't necessarily help you lose weight or build body mass, but it's indicative of people that want to do that."
Similarly, it's tough to say whether credit monitoring improves loan performance. But its growth in the wake of the pandemic, when there was heightened awareness of potential fraud and financial risk, does suggest consumers are more interested in managing debt.
Over half or 58% of U.S. respondents to Transunion's survey said they monitor their credit at least monthly but it doesn't appear to be a driver of a broader improvement in performance.
Whether that's enough to encourage more investment in it by mortgage lenders in particular remains to be seen. The industry has been wary of score provider fees recently because they have been
Wise said he couldn't comment on how lender-paid credit monitoring charges compare, as most of the services he is familiar with use not FICO but its competitor, Vantagescore. But he said the costs are likely less expensive than the hard and soft pulls used in the course of mortgage origination.
Vantagescore is not broadly used in the mortgage industry but is on track to be one of two scores
