Bloom+ Wins Tearsheet’s 2024 Data Innovation Award

Bloom is thrilled to announce that we’ve been recognized with the Data Innovation Award as part of Tearsheet’s 2024 Data Awards. Tearsheet’s Data Awards are “the industry’s top awards program, recognizing and celebrating the best data products, services, and brands powering the modern financial system.” This accolade highlights Bloom’s unique solution, which uses consumer-permissioned data to address the credit challenges faced by millions of Americans with limited or no credit history.

The financial landscape is often exclusionary, particularly for those who lack a credit file or have a thin credit file. Traditional credit scoring models, which rely heavily on past credit usage, can leave these groups at a disadvantage, making it difficult (if not impossible) for them to access mainstream credit products. Bloom is addressing this rift with Bloom+, a consumer-permissioned data service designed to bridge the gap between a customer’s bill payment history and the ability to get that data to the credit bureaus accurately.

Bloom+ enables consumers to opt-in to the service, permissioning data from their financial institution (FI) to share selected transactions from their DDA accounts – such as rent, utilities, and subscription services – which are typically not included in traditional credit reports. In this way, Bloom+ allows FIs to analyze and relay to bureaus more nuanced and thorough information about a consumer’s financial responsibility. This approach is critically important at a time when over 100 million Americans are overlooked by conventional credit models.

Moreover, this solution allows for seamless integration within an FI’s existing tech stack and is available in low- or no-code options. FIs can easily incorporate the service without the heavy lifting required of extensive development work. Quick deployment means FIs can begin helping customers right away while also gaining valuable insights that can inform personalized credit offers – a boon for banks and credit unions looking to retain loyal customers while also capturing a typically underserved segment. It represents a strategic step toward future-proofing offerings and appealing to the next generation of customers.

This award is a significant milestone in our mission toward collaborative standardization in the credit and lending industry. This recognition underscores the importance of innovation in the financial sections, especially innovation that addresses the needs of underserved populations and aims to build a more inclusive financial system.