Equifax Australia & Occubuy launch Open Score for renters

Equifax Australia has partnered with Occubuy to use Open Score to help renters demonstrate mortgage readiness. The arrangement makes Occubuy one of the first users of the scoring product in Australia.

The partnership combines Consumer Data Right transaction data with traditional credit reporting information to give lenders a broader view of a borrower's financial position, including regular rent payments and savings behaviour that may not appear in conventional credit assessments.

Housing affordability has pushed more Australians into longer periods of renting, while many face monthly rental costs that rival mortgage repayments. This has created a gap in the home lending market: people who regularly meet large rental obligations can still struggle to demonstrate creditworthiness because rental payment history is often absent from standard credit files.

Developed by Equifax, Open Score uses Mastercard's open finance infrastructure. Consumers can consent to share bank transaction data, which is then used to assess overall financial health and build a picture of repayment discipline beyond loans and credit cards.

The issue is particularly relevant for people with thin credit files, where limited formal borrowing history leaves lenders with little information under existing assessment methods. The model is intended to make visible patterns of financial behaviour that are already part of many renters' monthly lives.

Occubuy operates what it describes as a consumer readiness platform for people working towards a first home purchase. Through the platform, members are rewarded for positive financial habits such as paying rent on time and saving consistently, with points that can be redeemed towards buying a home.

Occubuy says it has more than 20,000 members and works across a network of more than 30 housing and finance partners. The partnership with Equifax gives those members a way to pair behavioural incentives with a formal score based on open banking data.

Melanie Cochrane, Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director, Equifax A/NZ, outlined the rationale for the move.

"For millions of Australians, paying rent on time is one of the largest financial commitments they make each month. Yet under traditional credit assessment models, that financial reliability is invisible when applying for a mortgage," said Cochrane.

She said the partnership aims to translate routine financial behaviour into information lenders can use more directly.

"By moving beyond the existing credit assessment criteria and leveraging consented open banking data, Open Score aims to help turn everyday financial discipline into a tangible asset. Partnering with Occubuy puts this insight directly into the hands of renters - helping to create a fairer, more inclusive path to home ownership while giving lenders the confidence to support deserving, credit-ready buyers," said Cochrane.

Consumer pathway

Occubuy framed the agreement as part of a longer process in which many would-be buyers need years to prepare to enter the housing market. Rather than treating a mortgage application as a single decision point, the platform is built around ongoing behaviour that can improve a customer's position over time.

Dr Amy Shi-Nash, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Occubuy, said the goal is to make the path from renting to owning more visible to consumers.

"Our mission is to accelerate the home ownership journey," said Dr Shi-Nash.

"Buying a home is not a one-off approval; it is a journey that starts years before the transaction. We want to help our members see that reaching their goal is a real possibility," said Dr Shi-Nash.

The addition of Open Score also gives Occubuy a way to connect its rewards model to data used in financial assessment. That may appeal to lenders seeking a fuller picture of applicants whose rent and savings records suggest stability but whose credit reports alone do not tell the whole story.

In Australia, debate over access to housing finance has increasingly focused on how to assess people outside traditional borrowing profiles. Renters, younger workers and first-time buyers are often among those most affected, especially when they make limited use of credit products but show strong evidence of regular household budgeting.

Equifax's use of open banking data reflects wider industry interest in alternative indicators of repayment behaviour. By drawing on transaction records with customer consent, scoring models can account for cash flow patterns, savings discipline and recurring financial commitments in ways older systems generally could not.

Pilot access

The companies are inviting lenders, mortgage brokers, insurers and property technology platforms to join a pilot programme. The aim is to give participants access to applicants assessed using broader financial insight than traditional credit files provide.

For lenders, the proposal is that better visibility over a renter's payment history and savings habits could help identify borrowers who might otherwise be overlooked. For consumers, the value lies in turning years of rent payments into data that can support a home loan application.

"Instead of feeling stuck in the renting cycle, consumers can now actively build toward buying a home. By pairing our consumer rewards and readiness platform with Equifax Australia's Open Score and Mastercard's open finance platform, we're turning daily money discipline into real progress toward a deposit and giving renters a fairer, clearer path to owning their own home," said Dr Shi-Nash.