On the Rise of the FinTechs - Credit Scoring using Digital Footprints

51 Pages Posted: 16 Oct 2018

See all articles by Manju Puri

Manju Puri

Duke University - Fuqua School of Business; NBER

Tobias Berg

Goethe University Frankfurt; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE

Valentin Burg

Humboldt University of Berlin

Ana Gombović

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Date Written: September 2018

Abstract

We analyze the information content of the digital footprint – information that people leave online simply by accessing or registering on a website – for predicting consumer default. Using more than 250,000 observations, we show that even simple, easily accessible variables from the digital footprint equal or exceed the information content of credit bureau scores. Furthermore, the discriminatory power for unscorable customers is very similar to that of scorable customers. Our results have potentially wide implications for financial intermediaries’ business models, for access to credit for the unbanked, and for the behavior of consumers, firms, and regulators in the digital sphere.

Suggested Citation

Puri, Manju and Berg, Tobias and Burg, Valentin and Gombović, Ana, On the Rise of the FinTechs - Credit Scoring using Digital Footprints (September 2018). FDIC Center for Financial Research Paper No. 2018-04, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3259901 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3259901

Manju Puri (Contact Author)

Duke University - Fuqua School of Business ( email )

100 Fuqua Drive
Box 90120
Durham, NC 27708-0120
United States
919-660-7657 (Phone)

NBER

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Tobias Berg

Goethe University Frankfurt ( email )

House of Finance
Grueneburgplatz 1
Frankfurt am Main, Hessen 60323
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE ( email )

House of Finance
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 3
Frankfurt, 60323
Germany

Valentin Burg

Humboldt University of Berlin ( email )

Unter den Linden 6
Berlin, AK Berlin 10099
Germany

Ana Gombović

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management ( email )

Adickesallee 32-34
Frankfurt am Main, 60322
Germany

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