In this final segment in our series “The Score:” Credit scores are vital to modern personal finances, and some people try all sorts of strategies to try to beat the algorithm.

All this week, we’ve been looking at the data and algorithms behind credit scores. While many lenders will use FICO scores, the company does have one major competitor, VantageScore. It was founded by the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) in 2006. The company, which is independently managed, says its scoring model is more inclusive and predictive of credit risk than traditional models. “Marketplace Tech” host Kimberly Adams recently spoke with Silvio Tavares, president and CEO of VantageScore, about what he and his team consider when they’re designing their algorithms. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

In our latest episode in our series “The Score” we look at how alternate data (like timely utility payments) could factor in to the credit scoring system.

We’ve been focusing on the three-digit number that is your credit score. It can be from the 300s and up to 850. And it’s used to determine whether someone is worthy of being granted a loan, a credit card, even a mortgage. What happens when you don’t have access to basic banking? You may not have a credit score at all. And it’s not always easy to establish one. “Marketplace Tech” producer Jesús Alvarado has more on that.

Credit risk assessment is largely a job for credit score algorithms, mass market models and systems that are relatively new in terms of the modern credit industry’s lifespan. Before computers and data science were fully adopted by the credit sector, lending decisions were made by credit managers employed by banks or department stores, who then collected information about each individual borrower. “Marketplace Tech” producer Daniel Shin takes a brief look at the history of credit score algorithms and how the industry eventually adopted those systems as the metric for risk assessment.

This episode originally aired May 24, 2022.

On this holiday, we’re rebroadcasting a show from May, before the Supreme Court had officially overturned Roe versus Wade, about how the court’s eventual opinion could affect the future of in vitro fertilization (IVF). That’s when eggs are lab fertilized and then embryos are implanted in a patient, or frozen for later use, donated, or disposed of. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Dr. Eve Feinberg, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University.

In the third installment of our series “The Score,” we look at the bias that can be embedded in the credit-score algorithms that shape our financial lives.

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Credit scores are these three digit snapshots — usually a number between 300 and 850 — that represent a borrower’s risk of default. They’re calculated by algorithms that use a borrower’s credit data, like the history of their credit payments, the amount of debt they owe, how long they’ve owned credit cards and more. Much of that data is collected and maintained by the three big credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s a system that scores millions of Americans. But critics say the system doesn’t serve consumers who prioritize paying for things in cash or don’t have enough credit accounts. In this episode, “Marketplace Tech” producer Daniel Shin explores how not having enough credit data to feed the algorithm can hurt a consumer’s chances of getting a loan or a mortgage.

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In the first installment of our series “The Score,” we look at the credit-score algorithms that influence so much of our financial lives.

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Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed abortion rights throughout the country. Since the draft of the opinion was leaked in early May, businesses have had time to prepare for the formal ruling. And while many tech companies have publicly discussed their strategies for supporting employees, they’ve been a lot more cagey about what the change in the law will mean for users and their data. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Vittoria Elliott, a reporter for Wired who covers tech platforms and power.

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