Experian launches Fast Track to cut credit rejections

Experian has launched Fast Track, a feature for its consumer marketplace that changes how credit pre-approvals are assessed. The tool is already in use with lender Lendable.

Fast Track brings income, affordability and identity data into the pre-approval stage earlier in the process, including information drawn from Open Banking. The aim is to give borrowers a clearer picture of whether they are likely to be accepted before they proceed with an application for products such as loans and credit cards.

This marks a shift from the standard process, in which consumers may receive a pre-approved offer but still face further affordability and verification checks after moving into a lender's own application journey. Those later checks can lead to revised offers, requests for extra documentation or a decline.

By moving more of those checks forward, lenders can filter out weaker applications earlier and reduce the volume of cases that need manual review, Experian said. For borrowers, the intended effect is fewer delays and less chance of being rejected after they have already entered a formal application process.

Early testing with Lendable produced a 50% reduction in verification issues among pre-approved borrowers, according to the companies. Experian added that other lenders are also using the feature.

How it works

The feature combines traditional eligibility checks with broader financial and identity information at the pre-approval stage. Open Banking data, which allows consumers to share account information securely, is part of that assessment, alongside what Experian described as richer affordability insights.

For lenders, the commercial case rests on improving the quality of leads entering the final application stage. A borrower screened more thoroughly before applying is less likely to drop away because of missing information, affordability concerns or identity verification issues.

That could also improve completion rates in digital application journeys, where drop-off remains a persistent issue for banks and specialist lenders. Consumers who believe they have already been assessed may be less willing to continue if they are then asked to provide extra documents or accept a different offer.

"Consumers want greater certainty when they search for credit, and lenders want to spend less time processing applications which don't end up being approved. Fast Track is designed to address both challenges," said Edu Castro, Managing Director, Experian Consumer Services UK&I.

"By combining traditional eligibility assessments with richer affordability and Open Banking insights, we're helping consumers access more relevant offers with greater confidence, while enabling lenders to streamline application journeys and improve conversion. It's an important step forward in creating a more efficient lending experience for everyone."

Partner rollout

Lendable was an early partner in the project and has introduced Fast Track for its loan customers. The lender said the change builds on an existing relationship with Experian that began in 2018.

The companies presented the product as an attempt to reduce friction in a market where borrowers often start with comparison tools or marketplaces before moving into a separate lender application flow. That handover between platforms can create a gap between an initial indication of eligibility and the final lending decision.

Chris Meurice, Managing Director at Lendable, said: "Lendable was founded to help people get credit and save money, with transparency and accuracy in comparing offers forming the foundations of a better deal.

"We have worked with Experian since 2018 to drive the vast improvement that pre-approved offers brought, but we knew that even more could be done to improve the customer experience. Fast Track is the missing link. It brings a new level of confidence for consumers, using the latest advancements in credit technology to remove last-minute rejections and ensure people pay only what they expect."

Experian is seeking to expand the role of its marketplace beyond matching borrowers with offers by inserting more decisioning data at an earlier stage. In practice, that means the marketplace becomes more closely tied to lenders' underwriting and verification processes, rather than serving only as a distribution channel.

The move comes as lenders face pressure to balance customer acquisition with tighter scrutiny of affordability and fraud checks. Using more data before a consumer makes a full application may help lenders cut avoidable processing while limiting the number of applicants who reach the end of a journey only to be turned down.

Experian employs 25,200 people across 33 countries, while Lendable says it is the UK's largest issuer of personal loans and one of the three biggest issuers of credit cards.