NH NongHyup Bank forms alternative credit scoring alliance with 8 institutions

NH NongHyup Bank announced Thursday that it has formed an alternative credit scoring alliance called "NH Credit On" with eight institutions and signed a multilateral MOU to advance inclusive finance.

The participating institutions are NH NongHyup Bank, NH NongHyup Capital, Agile Soda (AI technology), Honest AI (AI-based alternative modeling), Kakao Pay (alternative data and platform), Korea Credit Bureau (credit information and assessment), Crepas Solution (alternative credit scoring) and Korea Evaluation Information (credit information and assessment for sole proprietors).

The agreement aligns with the government's push to reform the credit scoring system and its inclusive finance policy direction. The participating institutions plan to build a cooperative framework by discussing ways to expand alternative credit scoring using non-financial data to support underserved groups — including thin-filers, youth and small-business owners — and by reviewing business models for putting inclusive finance into practice.

Alternative credit scoring assesses the creditworthiness of people with limited traditional financial transaction histories — such as past loans or credit card use — by drawing on non-financial data such as telecommunications bill payments and shopping and payment records to calculate a credit score.

The main areas of cooperation are: data profiling and sharing of alternative information held by each participant — including platform usage, consumption history and National Tax Service-based data; quantifying unstructured data using AI technology such as large language models, and jointly planning and conducting proof-of-concept validation of alternative credit scoring models; accelerating AI transformation through multifaceted exploration of high-efficiency alternative data suited to inclusive finance and the preparation of credit assessment research notes; and realizing a financial ladder through the activation of alternative credit scoring models while building a sustainable alternative credit scoring ecosystem through public-private cooperation.

NH NongHyup Bank and its AI technology subsidiary Agile Soda plan to develop an AI-based credit assessment research note agent using generative AI — one that not only explains credit scoring results but also provides customized guidance on improving customers' credit scores.

"We will combine alternative data competitiveness, modeling capabilities and innovative AI technology to develop ways to activate a fair and differentiated alternative credit scoring system," NH NongHyup Bank President Kang Tae-young said. "We will achieve genuine inclusive finance and accelerate AI transformation across the bank so that no customer is left behind simply because they lack a financial history."

Meanwhile, NH NongHyup Bank plans to carry out joint projects through the alliance through December, starting with this MOU signing, and will continue working-level discussions in step with financial authorities' "credit scoring system improvement" guidelines for the inclusive finance transformation.