SMS Psychometric Credit Scoring

Julia Reichelstein of EFL Global Ltd in Bermuda will promote access to financial services for poor communities by producing a psychometric test for distribution by SMS that can identify dependable new customers and evaluate the risk of lending to them. Individuals in developing countries that would benefit from credit to break out of poverty and in turn boost economic growth are often unable to access financial services largely due to their lack of credit history. They have developed a simple questionnaire that evaluates psychometric traits such as intelligence, business acumen and honesty, to measure risk and future earning potential. They will create an automated SMS version to expand distribution while decreasing costs, and engage with a lending partner for pilot testing in a developing region with a large rural population.