Equifax: Machine Learning For Credit Scoring PYMNTS.com

While artificial intelligence, machine learning and other futuristic-seeming technologies have been resigned to the likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook, traditional companies are also getting in the game, including Equifax and SAS. According to a report, Equifax is using deep-learning tools to enhance its credit scoring system, and SAS is using deep learning to improve its data mining tools and provide deep learning APIs. In an interview, Peter Maynard, senior vice president of global analytics at Equifax, said the company realized a few years ago that it wasn't getting enough "statistical lift" from its traditional credit scoring methods and thus started to embrace advanced deep-learning technology. The report noted that modern machine-learning technologies, such as deep neural networks, which boast much more accurate results, were perceived to not be interpretable, posing a challenge for any company wanting to use them. The complexity also added another layer of challenge for Equifax.