Toss announced Tuesday that it is joining forces with Korea High Savings Bank and PFCT (PFC Technologies) to expand inclusive finance services for low- and mid-credit customers. The three companies signed a memorandum of understanding to upgrade Korea High Savings Bank's credit-assessment framework using Toss Score, Toss's proprietary alternative credit-scoring system.
The signing ceremony was held Monday at Korea High Savings Bank's headquarters in Dong-gu, Busan, with key representatives from all three companies in attendance, including Korea High Savings Bank CEO Kim Jeong-gi, Toss financial business division executive vice president Shin Hyun-ho and PFCT CEO Lee Su-hwan.
The agreement marks the first case in the domestic financial industry in which a customized credit-assessment model is developed for a specific savings bank and integrated into a real-time loan strategy management solution — in this case, one provided by PFCT — to function as a single, unified credit-evaluation system. The core aim is to broaden the scope of assessment to include customers who were difficult to evaluate based solely on conventional financial history, improving the accuracy of loan screening.
Toss Score is an alternative credit-scoring system Toss developed jointly with Korea Data (KoDATA). It evaluates creditworthiness by examining a wide range of data on how customers manage and spend money, including account transaction records, card spending patterns, and investment and insurance payment histories. The system is designed to more accurately gauge the repayment capacity of customers who have limited financial transaction records and have historically been disadvantaged under conventional credit assessments.
The three companies will divide responsibilities under the partnership. Toss will develop a customized credit-assessment model optimized for Korea High Savings Bank, drawing on alternative data and Toss Score. AI-driven financial technology firm PFCT will integrate the model into its real-time loan strategy management solution, AirPack Studio, updating it into a framework that maximizes the use of alternative data. Korea High Savings Bank will then apply the model to its actual loan screening and lending operations.
The collaboration focuses on refining the loan screening process through the tailored credit-assessment model and strengthening risk management capabilities. By drawing on a broader range of information — including data on customers who were difficult to assess based on conventional financial history alone — the partnership aims to give Korea High Savings Bank a stronger foundation for more accurate customer evaluation.
Korea High Savings Bank plans to begin a phased rollout of Toss Score in the second half of this year, gradually expanding its application. The three companies said they intend to continue working together beyond this agreement to improve financial access for low- and mid-credit customers.
"The alternative data Toss has accumulated on its platform reveals repayment capacity that conventional assessments tend to overlook," said Shin, Toss's executive vice president of financial business. "We hope that customers who have been disadvantaged in loan terms due to limited credit transaction records or low credit scores will be able to have their repayment capacity reassessed using Toss's alternative data, and borrow at interest rates suited to their circumstances."
Meanwhile, Toss is strengthening external partnerships to make its credit-scoring tools available to outside financial institutions for loan screening — not only Toss Score, its individual credit-assessment model, but also Toss SOHO Score, a credit-assessment model for sole proprietors.
won@heraldcorp.com
