Irish personal finance company Permanent TSB (PTSB) has selected consumer credit reporting company Experian as its technology partner to improve its customer lending journeys.

Permanent TSB has chosen the Experian’s banking categorisation technology.

Experian’s categorisation as a service (CaaS) solution assesses a customer’s financial condition for banks by categorising their income and expenditure, whenever they apply for a loan.

This technology is being implemented for the first time in the Republic of Ireland.

Experian offers an Irish-specific version of categorisation engine which complements its UK version.

However, with extensive training and development, it can recognise local country transactions and retailers, the tech vendor said.

The data categorised with this technology will deliver faster service and improved customer experience across all product lines, including personal financial management.

Experian (Castlight) chairman Martin Hagerty said: “Financial providers have always sought to understand a person’s track record, their willingness to pay and their ability to pay.

“For many years, credit bureau data has helped answer two of these questions and now this service will help lenders to truly understand affordability.

“Categorising income and expenditure will allow lenders to see whether a person’s income is stable or indeed has fallen significantly, or if their burden of non-discretionary spending is beginning to become a problem for them.”

Permanent TSB chief risk officer Mike Frawley said: “This partnership with Experian builds on the bank’s digital focus, offers our customers quick response times and enhances our automated lending journeys.”