FNBO and FICO to Expand Its Credit Transparency Program

For more than ten years, one of the largest privately held banks in the United States, FNBO and FICO have worked together to offer FICO® Scores to its customers by participating in the FICO® Score Open Access program. This access creates and cultivates more financially aware, literate consumers by allowing them to view their FICO Score directly on their online account or mobile app. Expanding on its success with FICO Score Open Access, FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha) introduced an enhanced and feature-rich consumer education program known as FNBO Credit Watch℠.

Through the FNBO Credit Watch℠ program, FNBO customers can access their FICO® Score and view up to five positive and negative factors that impact their FICO Score. These additional factors help educate customers and allow them to make more informed credit decisions. Customers further understand the impacts of opening new lines of credit, paying down debt and paying bills on time. Since the launch of FNBO Credit Watch in June 2023, nearly 500,000 customers have joined the program in the first nine months. This accounts for 17% of FNBO’s online consumer credit card population.

“The benefits of the FICO Score Open Access and FNBO Credit Watch programs have been tremendous,” said Jerry O’Flanagan, executive vice president at FNBO. “The transparency has enabled our customers to be more in control of their everyday finances. This knowledge and empowerment transfers to other significant customer financial decisions, whether it is obtaining a home mortgage, starting a small business, or buying a car.”

With FNBO’s Credit Watch℠, real time credit inquiry alerts also help customers monitor their accounts by supporting early detection of identity theft and fraud. These features support the company’s ongoing focus to encourage financial well-being and deepen relationships with customers.

“FNBO’s efforts in furthering credit transparency go hand in hand with FICO’s focus on financial literacy and empowerment,” said Nikhil Behl, chief marketing officer and executive vice president at FICO. “It is important for consumers to have access to their FICO Score, the credit score that is used by 90% of top U.S. lenders, and we applaud FNBO’s decision to make it easier than ever for their customers to access this valuable information.”

For these achievements, FNBO won a 2024 FICO® Decisions Award for Financial Inclusion.

“FNBO’s Credit Watch program is an impactful project that can help more Americans gain control of their financial health,” Nick Vitchev, director at Chartis Research and one of the FICO Decisions Awards judges. “The judges were impressed by FNBO’s commitment to expanding their financial education and credit transparency toolset to better serve their customers.”

With the enhanced content of the FICO Score consumer educational program, lenders like FNBO, are able to provide their customers with content beyond the standard program, such as additional FICO Score Factors and FICO Score Ingredients that provide a deeper insight into what is driving the consumers FICO Score.

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