iscover 
Under the partnership, Occubuy has been named one of the first partners using Equifax Open Score, which was developed by Equifax and powered by Mastercard’s secure open finance infrastructure.
Open Score uses Consumer Data Right (CDR) transaction data to provide a view of an individual’s overall financial health.
The partnership will allow renters to use their history of on-time rent payments and consistent savings to demonstrate their credit readiness when applying for a home loan.
Occubuy’s platform rewards members for positive financial habits, including making rent payments on time and maintaining consistent savings.
Equifax and Occubuy are now inviting lenders, mortgage brokers, insurers, and proptech platforms to join the pilot program.
Rental payments increasingly a financial signal
Both companies said that the partnership came as Australians increasingly rented for longer and for more money.
According to the federal government’s Institute of Health and Welfare, median advertised rents in Australia rose by approximately 48 per cent for houses and units in the 10 years to March 2025. Meanwhile, the Australian Renter Survey 2026, published by CBRE and REA Group, found that both the age and income of renters have been increasing in the last decade.
Equifax said, however, that rental repayment consistency is not captured under traditional credit evaluation, which can leave responsible renters with thin credit files or make it harder for lenders to assess their borrowing capacity under standard criteria.
Through the partnership, consumers can consent to sharing their bank transaction data, allowing Open Score to provide a broader view of their financial behaviour alongside traditional credit reporting data.
Equifax Australia CEO and group managing director Melanie Cochrane said rental payments represented a significant financial commitment for many Australians.
“For millions of Australians, paying rent on time is one of the largest financial commitments they make each month. Yet under traditional credit assessment models, that financial reliability is invisible when applying for a mortgage,” Cochrane said.
“By moving beyond the existing credit assessment criteria and leveraging consented open banking data, Open Score aims to help turn everyday financial discipline into a tangible asset.”
Cochrane added that the partnership with Occubuy would put this information directly in the hands of renters while also giving lenders greater insight into potential borrowers.
“Partnering with Occubuy puts this insight directly into the hands of renters – helping to create a fairer, more inclusive path to home ownership while giving lenders the confidence to support deserving, credit-ready buyers,” she said.
Open banking applications gain momentum
The Consumer Data Right, which underpinned this partnership as well as open banking as a whole, has been gaining ground in recent months.
NextGen, which owns open banking provider Frollo and its broker-focused solution Frollo for Brokers, said almost 120,000 consumers shared their financial data with mortgage brokers through its platform during the last financial year, with open banking now used in close to one in 10 broker-originated home loan applications.
The technology provider also said applications supported by open banking data are approved an average of 11 per cent faster than those submitted through traditional processes.
For refinance applications, approval times improve by up to 21 per cent, while some major lenders have reported assessment times falling by as much as 49 per cent.
The wider framework has also been expanding as planned.
Earlier this month, the CDR regime, which underpins open banking in Australia, was extended to the non-bank lending sector.
Now, as financial fraud hits the headlines once more, major banks, as well as banking associations and a Senate select committee, have called for the inclusion of Australian Tax Office data in the Consumer Data Right to help fight fraudulent loan applications.
[Related: Banking on trust: How open banking is changing the broker–client relationship]
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Broker Daily a preferred news source on Google.
