What is a cash flow score?
A cash flow score is a measure of credit risk based on how money moves into and out of a bank account over time. Instead of relying only on bureau data, it uses transaction-derived signals to assess borrower behavior, financial stability, repayment capacity, and risk.
Carrington Labs’ Cashflow Score is built from de-identified transaction data and returns a 1–100 score, risk segment, and explainable drivers to support decision transparency and governance.
How is a cash flow score calculated?
A cash flow score is calculated by analyzing transaction-derived signals that reflect how an applicant manages money day to day. These signals can include income patterns, spending behavior, liquidity, recurring obligations, balance volatility, and financial recovery.
Carrington Labs’ Cashflow Score organizes borrower risk signals into five behavioral categories: Velocity, Liquidity, Stability, Leverage, and Resilience. These categories help lenders understand the behaviors influencing the score.
How is a cash flow score different from a credit score?
A traditional credit score is usually based on bureau data and past credit history. A cash flow score adds a different lens by looking at current transaction behavior, including income, spending, liquidity, obligations, and balance recovery.
That makes it useful as an additional underwriting signal, especially where bureau data is thin, limited, or less predictive for certain segments.
Lenders can use Cashflow Score alongside bureau scores, policy rules, and existing risk models to make more informed decisions.
Can a cash flow score help assess thin-file borrowers?
Yes. A cash flow score can be especially useful for thin-file or no-file borrowers, or in cases where bureau coverage is limited. Because it is based on transaction data rather than only traditional credit history, it can give lenders a broader view of borrower behavior and repayment capacity.
Cashflow Score helps lenders identify applicants who may be stronger than their credit file suggests, while still supporting risk controls and explainability.
Why do lenders use cash flow scores?
Lenders use cash flow scores to improve risk separation, reduce false declines, and make faster, more consistent credit decisions. Cashflow Score adds a current cash flow lens to underwriting by helping lenders understand borrower behavior across income, spending, obligations, liquidity, and resilience.
It is designed to support lender judgment, not replace it. Lenders remain in control of policy, cutoffs, approvals, declines, referrals, and customer treatment.
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