Published
March 13, 2025
My journey into data science began with a love of math and a fascination with solving puzzles. Now, I apply that passion to building strategies that expand access to credit at Synchrony, often providing people with their very first credit card.
That first credit card is the steppingstone to building a strong credit profile. Credit is critical for achieving life milestones like buying a home or car, while also providing a safety net for everyday needs. By leveraging data insights, we can help individuals establish and build their credit and unlock a brighter financial future.
Expanding credit access to more people was a topic of discussion during my recent fireside conversation with FinRegLab CEO Melissa Koide at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s International Women’s Day Forum.
Supporting women’s financial futures
For much of history, women were largely excluded from the financial system. For example, in the U.S., women needed a male co-signer (husband, father, or brother) to obtain loans, credit cards, or even open a bank account. This dependence limited women’s financial autonomy and opportunities.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) of 1974 marked a turning point for women and their financial future. The act prohibited discrimination in lending based on sex or marital status, paving the way for them to access credit and build their own financial independence.
Fast-forward to today, and I am honored to be a woman working in data science helping people gain access to credit. At Synchrony, we are also partnering with nonprofit organizations to help more people understand the impact of borrowing and foster responsible financial behavior. For example, the Synchrony Foundation has partnered with the Jeannette Rankin Foundation to support mentoring and credit education to women returning to college later in life.
The power of data to expand access to credit
Going beyond the credit score helps more people obtain and build their credit. Factors such as stability in checking and savings account balances, consistent rent payments and other bill payments, provide a more holistic view of a person's credit worthiness. That’s why Synchrony's advanced credit decisioning system, called Synchrony PRISM, goes beyond traditional credit scores to evaluate over 9,000 data attributes to better assess risk and approve more people for credit. This approach to credit decisioning allows us to expand access to credit to more people who would not otherwise be able to obtain it. They include Gen Z and young millennials, many of whom grew up in low-income households with limited access to credit.
By focusing on consumer behavior and a wider range of data points, we can identify and approve creditworthy individuals who might be overlooked by traditional models. For example, when a person with a low credit score is looking to finance a large purchase, our team considers other data points such as the customer’s long-time history with the retailer and on-time payment history on other Synchrony accounts.
Project REACh: A public-private partnership that works
Project REACh, which stands for Roundtable for Economic Access and Change, is a public-private partnership launched by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under the U.S. Treasury Department. The program is transforming the financial landscape for credit-invisible Americans. They are invisible to our financial system because they lack a usable credit score, limiting their access to loans, credit cards or homeownership.
Through this program, we provide resources, expertise and partner with other financial institutions to use consolidated banking data to help Americans with limited or no credit history qualify for their first credit card accounts. As a result, banks have originated more than 100,000 new consumer accounts, with more than half of those accounts approved by Synchrony. More than 50% of Project REACh participants who became new cardholders with us moved to what we’d consider a prime credit score after just one year.
That’s a major milestone and shows why these types of programs are so important to build a stronger economy.
A data-driven approach to credit decisioning is key to responsibly expand credit access to more people – from those just starting their credit journey to individuals rebuilding after setbacks. Looking ahead, the possibilities are exciting as more and more data becomes available and computing power continues to grow.
About the authors
Catherine Dolsen
Catherine Dolsen is SVP of Account Management Strategy and Analytics at Synchrony, a leading financing partner for many of America’s most iconic brands serving tens of millions of consumers and hundreds of thousands of businesses. In this role, Catherine leads the strategies that determine credit lines for all Synchrony customers. She also serves as the business owner for technology and operational improvements within account management to help enhance the customer experience.
