Netflix subscriptions and council tax bills can be used to boost credit scores

People looking to improve their credit score can now have their Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions and council tax bills taken into account, Experian has said.

The credit checking company said its early analysis suggests more than half of people (51%) using “Experian boost” will receive an instant increase to their Experian credit score.

At launch, Experian boost will be able to take into account payments such as council tax, savings and investments, and digital entertainment services such as Netflix, Spotify and Amazon Prime.

The new, free service will enable people to voluntarily add new information using open banking technology.

Open banking allows people to give consent to share their bank transactions in a secure way with authorised third parties.

This includes general information about someone’s finances, such as their total incomings and outgoings, as well as a range of regular payments not traditionally used in credit scores.

Experian said a launch in the United States has already enabled consumers to benefit from easily improving their credit scores.

Clive Lawson, managing director for consumer services at Experian, said: “We are incredibly excited to provide this groundbreaking, free service now to help build better financial futures for consumers in the UK.”

Andrew Hagger, a personal finance expert from MoneyComms, said: “The potential financial benefits of this new initiative could see some customers having access to more favourable interest rate terms and improved credit limits.”