An indicative yes, in seconds, without a hard search
A decision in principle should not cost the applicant a footprint. Run a soft credit view, trended data and a modelled affordability read to give a fast, indicative answer, and save the full search for the applicant who proceeds.
The job
The decision in principle is where conversion is won or lost. An applicant wants to know, quickly, whether it is worth going further. Make them wait, or make them commit to a hard search for an indicative answer, and many simply leave.
A hard search at this stage is bad for everyone: it marks the applicant's file for a product they may not take, and it can put off the very applicants you most want.
The job is to give a genuinely useful indicative decision in seconds, from data good enough to trust, while leaving no footprint until the applicant is committed.
The product mix
A soft, fast read that still means something.
A soft, quotation search gives the credit view with no footprint and no effect on the score.
Trended data shows whether the applicant is paying down or building up, which sharpens an indicative answer.
A modelled affordability read, with no account connection needed at this stage.
Footprint and permissible purpose
The whole point of a decision in principle is the soft (quotation) search: it returns the credit view with no footprint other lenders can see and no effect on the applicant's score. The full search comes later, at application.
TrueVision is read under the same permissible purpose as the credit view; TU Affordability is a modelled assessment, not a hard search. None of it commits the applicant.
What it looks like through Credit Canary
The applicant enters a few details. A soft CallReport, TrueVision and TU Affordability return in one call, feed your decisioning rules, and produce an indicative yes, no or refer in seconds. Nothing is recorded on the file. When the applicant proceeds, the same integration runs the full search and the harder affordability check.
You can pair the soft read with Open Banking affordability where you want the account itself to confirm the figure before you commit.
Getting access
The credit and identity data behind this job is available for a permissible purpose, and you need to be approved for the purpose that fits this use. We set the onboarding up once, so one approval covers the checks here and the rest of Credit Canary.
Credit and identity data is only available for a permissible purpose, and you need to be approved for that purpose before you can use it. We handle the integration and the onboarding once, so a single approval covers credit, identity, affordability and open banking together.
- 1Due diligenceWe run due diligence on you and submit the application to TransUnion.
- 2ApprovalTransUnion approve it and give the authority to contract.
- 3ContractWe issue your contract and pass it to TransUnion.
- 4KeysTransUnion issue your unique keys.
- 5LiveYou go live, and billing starts.
The reason to take TransUnion data through Credit Canary is a better rate, on one integration that also gives you open banking, decisioning and payments.
Related
Decision in principle: FAQs
No. A soft (quotation) search gives the credit view with no footprint and no effect on the score. The hard search is only for application.
A soft CallReport, TrueVision and TU Affordability return in one call and feed your decisioning rules, so the indicative answer comes back in seconds.
At application, once the applicant commits to proceeding. The same integration runs it without a second build.
Yes. Add an open banking connection where you want the account to confirm the modelled figure.
Give a fast answer that protects the file
Tell us how you pre-qualify, and we will quote the soft-search decision in principle on one integration, at a better rate.