Top 15 Alternative Data Providers That Serve the Credit Industry

Around the world, 1.4 billion people can't get loans because they don't fit into the traditional scoring models. That's almost 20% of people worldwide who are left out.

In response to this challenge, more lenders are turning to alternative data, which goes far beyond borrowers' credit histories. 

In this article, you'll find a list of alternative data providers that can give you a more detailed view of your customers and lead you to potentially lower risks and higher opportunities. 

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What is alternative data?

Alternative data refers to non-traditional sources of information that lending organizations use to gather additional insights into borrowers.

Unlike traditional data such as credit reports, income statements, and other financial documents, alternative data covers a wide range of sources. These include social media activity, mobile phone usage, utility and rental payments, and more.

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Key alternative data market stats

As of 2024, the alternative data market size stands at approximately $11 billion. 

By 2030, this figure is expected to grow to $135.8 billion. Thus, the market will demonstrate a CAGR of 52.1%.

This trend is illustrated by the graph presented below:

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Another statistic demonstrates the prevalence of alternative data in different regions. 

According to Precedence Research, 68.5% of the revenue from their usage comes from North American countries. Europe is second in this ranking, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

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Top alternative data providers for the lending industry

We relied on specific criteria to compile a list of alternative credit data providers. In our view, such providers should offer data that:

• Enhance scorecards performance
• Assist in detecting solvent clients or future defaulters 
• Help with credit risk reduction

After conducting a detailed analysis of existing market players, we have identified 15 providers whose services align with the characteristics mentioned above:

1. RiskSeal
2. Plaid
3. Rubix
4. LenddoEFL
5. Credolab 
6. ArkOwl
7. MicroBilt 
8. IDology
9. Dana 
10.  Monnai 
11. FinScore
12. Zest AI
13. Trusting Social
14. LexisNexis Risk Solutions 
15. CreditXpert

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#1. RiskSeal

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Description: RiskSeal is a powerful Digital Credit Scoring system providing clients with over 300 data points sourced from 140+ alternative channels. The solution enhances credit scoring models by analyzing the digital footprint of potential borrowers.

Website: https://www.riskseal.io/   

Founded: 2022

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Real-time Digital Credit Score
• Photo matching
• Name intelligence
• Location insights
• Behavioral metrics
• Risk analysis
• Trust score
• Email data enrichment
• Email address analysis
• Phone data enrichment
• User social media search
• IP analysis

Cost: Starting from $499/month, flexible pricing policy, pay-as-you-go model, no additional integration fees, support and training included.

Trial period: Free PoC is available.

#2. Plaid

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Description: Plaid is an alternative data provider that allows assessing potential clients' banking transactions, incomes, and expenses.

Website: https://plaid.com

Founded: 2017

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Unclassified and classified transactions from personal accounts spanning over 5 years.
• Balance information.
• Account identification details.

Cost: Two pricing plans: free and custom. 

Trial period: Available.

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#3. Rubix

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Description: Rubix is an analytical platform that helps mitigate credit risks, build a secure supply chain, and monitor compliance with requirements for platform users in India and worldwide.

Website: https://rubixds.com/ 

Founded: 2017

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Structured data from financial statements and open databases.
• Unstructured data from over 140 sources, including data on retail sales, Point-of-Sale (POS), social media, mobile location, satellite imagery, supply chain, and consumer demographic.
• Pre-defined risk analytics with scores, indices, and estimations.

Cost: Customized pricing; you should contact a manager for details.

Trial period: Data not available.

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#4. LenddoEFL

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Description: LenddoEFL is a scoring system that utilizes artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics to analyze both traditional and alternative data. The company positions itself as a market leader in psychometric data, which is used to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers.

Website: https://lenddoefl.com

Founded: 2011

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Non-traditional data from various sources, including social media data, smartphone metadata, online shopping behavior, email and SMS data, web browsing history, GPS location data, etc. 
• Psychometric and biometric data—personality assessment, cognitive ability tests, and skills evaluations.

Cost: There is no publicly available information regarding pricing. You must fill out the feedback form on the website to obtain information about tariffs.

Trial period: Data not available.

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#5. credolab

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Description: credolab is a platform that enriches scoring models with alternative data for risk assessment, fraud detection, and improving marketing campaigns.

Website: https://www.credolab.com/ 

Founded: 2016

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Smartphone metadata and web behavioral data, including call and SMS, location, and social media data.
• Analytics and personality assessment based on web behavioral data.

Cost: Starting from $600/month.

Trial period: A 30-day free access available. 

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#6. ArkOwl

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Description: ArkOwl is a platform that enables real-time verification of email addresses and phone numbers. The platform provides clients with raw data, based on which they can assess the reliability of any user.

Website: https://arkowl.com/   

Founded: 2012

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Data points from social networks, email providers, domain databases, and other public data sources. 
• A range of user information, including the date the email account was created, the real owner's name, known nicknames, and registration status.
• Simultaneous real-time verification of thousands of email addresses and phone numbers with the ability to consolidate all information into a single profile to obtain complete information about any recipient.

Cost: The platform offers several payment options: monthly subscription, upfront payment, or pay-as-you-go model.

Trial period:  Available – registration required.

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#7. MicroBilt 

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Description: The MicroBilt platform provides users with alternative data and predictive algorithms to assess the creditworthiness of their clients or partners across various industries.

Website: https://www.microbilt.com/   

Founded: 1978

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Data on periodic payments such as utility, rental, and telecom payments.
• Financial information such as savings account data.
• Alternative data from other sources, including property and business ownership data, criminal, eviction, and bankruptcy records, judgment, employment history, vehicle registration, and address history data.

‍Cost: Available by subscription, with prices depending on the volume of services provided. 

Trial period: Available; you should contact a manager for details.

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#8. IDology

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Description: IDology is a platform that offers solutions for verifying consumer identities at the point of transaction, helping to prevent fraud, reduce costs, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Website: https://www.idology.com/

Founded: 2003

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Government and private data sources, including device, phone number, email intelligence, social media, and geolocation data.
• Authentication of identity documents through access to identity document verification data, confirming the authenticity of identification.
• Identification of individuals through their appearance (selfie ID verification) using digital identity verification data.

Cost: Pricing offers are tailored individually. You need to contact a manager to find out the price.

Trial period: Available. You need to contact a manager for details.

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#9. Dana

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Description: Dana is a tool designed for e-commerce platforms, enabling them to offer users instant loans through a digital lending platform.

Website: https://dana.money/ 

Founded: 2021

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Digital footprint of potential borrowers, including device metadata.
• Information from SMS transaction alerts.

Cost: You need to contact a manager for information regarding the cost of services.

Trial period: No information is available on the official website.

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#10. Monnai

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Description: Monnai is a solution for fintech companies that use AI for the analysis of disparate customer data, identification, and online behavior assessment.

Website: https://monnai.com/   

Founded: 2021

Alternative data the company provides: 

• Telecommunications data, email usage information, IP address data, and consumer behavior on the Internet. 
• Analysis of digital footprints of users on over 40 global and local websites.

Cost: Flexible pricing policy.

Trial period: Available. 

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#11. FinScore

‍Description: FinScore is a fintech company that specializes in alternative credit scoring based on the analysis of telecom service provider data. 

It operates in the Philippines and Indonesia. It uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers.

‍Website: https://www.finscore.ph/

‍Founded: 2018

Alternative data the company provides:

• Telecommunication data, which includes call duration, geolocation, mobile phone costs, SIM card age, payment model (prepaid or postpaid), etc.
• Alternative data from other sources, which include email address and social media.
• Information on previous loan applications from 40+ financial organizations.

Cost: SUPERFLEXI and DISCOVERY tariff plans are available to users. The cost is available on request. It is also possible to develop a personalized tariff plan.

Trial period: All pricing plans include access to Proof of Concept and Historical Backtesting. 

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#12. Zest AI

‍Description: Zest AI – an American technology company that offers users an Artificial Intelligence-based platform to create customized credit scoring models and predict risk. 

Website: https://www.zest.ai/ 

Founded: 2009

Alternative data the company provides:

• Cash flow information, including utility and rent payments and mobile operator fees.
• In addition to standard credit bureau data, they conduct more thorough analyses. For example, their scoring models consider factors such as the duration of delinquencies and the intervals between payment schedule violations.

Cost: Zest AI customizes its pricing. To get a quote, the customers have to arrange a consultation or demo with their team.

Trial period: Free trial not available. A demo version can be requested.

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#13. Trusting Social

‍Description: The Trusting Social platform provides AI-based tools for lending institutions to manage credit risk, attract, assess creditworthiness, and identify potential borrowers. 

The company provides services in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Website: https://trustingsocial.com/ 

Founded: 2013

Alternative data the company provides:

• Telecommunications data.
• Facial recognition, including comparison of selfies and images in national identity cards with avatars in social media and public databases.
• Alternative credit rating.
• Fraud rating.

Cost: Customized pricing. 

Trial period: There is no free trial.

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#14. LexisNexis Risk Solutions 

‍Description: LexisNexis Risk Solutions is a provider of alternative data for companies that operate in various industries, including financial services, insurance, public administration, and others. 

The company specializes in analytics, risk forecasting, and fraud prevention.

‍Website: https://risk.lexisnexis.com/

Founded: 1994

Alternative data the company provides:

• Public records
• Identity insights
• Stability insights
• Address insights
• Alternative credit seeking insights
• Asset insights

Cost: Complex pricing structure. Search fees range from $0 to $469. Combined searches from more than one source are priced individually.

Trial period: Available.

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#15. CreditXpert

‍Description: CreditXpert specializes in improving the credit ratings of borrowers interested in mortgage lending. 

The platform uses alternative data to assess the creditworthiness of applicants, develops a plan for them to improve their rating, and allows lenders to offer personalized loan terms to each of them.

‍Website: https://creditxpert.com

Founded: 2001

Alternative data the company provides:

• Rent
• Utility bills
• Cell phone bills

Cost: From $99.

‍Trial period: There is no free trial period. There are two demo options – a pre-recorded video and an interactive option.