We tell you, before you enter your information, that credit scoring is used and what kinds of information it considers. Credit scoring is profiling under the Data Privacy Act, even though a person makes the decision.
1. What we use
When you submit an application, an automated assessment calculates a score and a recommendation.
It uses:
- your income: the amount verified from your documents or, if there is none, the lowest value of the monthly income range you declared;
- the other loans and obligations you declare, and the installments of any Alwan cash-outs you are repaying;
- the installments you would pay, compared with your income;
- your repayment history with Alwan: installments paid on time, days late and overdue installments;
- how long you have had an Alwan account.
Identity verification is checked separately. It is a requirement to apply, not part of the score.
It does not use:
- your source of income. Being an employee, a business owner, a freelancer, a gig worker or a remittance recipient does not raise or lower your score;
- your contact list, location, photos, social media, device information or app usage;
- your sex, age, religion, ethnicity, marital status, place of birth or health;
- credit reports from the Credit Information Corporation.
2. What the assessment produces
- a score and a risk level (low, medium or high): an internal assessment by the lender, not a credit bureau score;
- reasons, for example: payments usually on time; installments would use a large share of income; no repayment history yet; an installment is overdue;
- a recommendation;
- a suggested credit limit, never higher than what your income can support.
Your monthly installments may not take more than 40% of your income.
Every assessment records the version of the model used, and older assessments are never recalculated.
3. Who decides
A person decides. A member of the lender's credit team reviews every application, including the assessment, and approves or declines it. The assessment never approves or declines an application by itself, and it never sets your credit limit.
4. Your rights and how to ask for a review
You can:
- ask for the main reasons for a decision on your application;
- correct wrong information, for example by providing proof of income such as a payslip, business records, receipts, e-wallet or bank statements, or remittance records, and ask for your application to be assessed again;
- object to the processing, or ask questions about it, through our Data Protection Officer, via Support in the Alwan app;
- complain to us through Support in the Alwan app, to the National Privacy Commission (privacy.gov.ph), or to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We do not publish the exact points and thresholds, so that the assessment cannot be manipulated. We will always tell you the categories of information used and the main reasons that applied to you.
5. Records
Each assessment is kept with the model version, the information it used and the result. It is never edited. A new assessment, for example after your income is verified, creates a new record. See the Data Retention Policy.