Life in America is harder when you’re a “credit invisible.” I understand the challenge firsthand as I was once invisible with no credit score myself. That’s why I’m proud of the work we’re doing at Synchrony every day to help others on the pathway to financial responsibility and stability.

If you have no credit history — and therefore no credit score — it can be difficult to purchase things you need. It’s a challenge to obtain a credit card, mortgage or other loans, or even a mobile phone contract. This not only presents challenges to those consumers affected (who simply cannot afford to purchase without flexible financing options), but it also weighs on the retailers that miss out on serving these customers. And it’s not a minor problem. According to POLITICO Focus, one in 10 U.S. adults is credit invisible — and many more have low credit scores. Moreover, these consumers are not distributed evenly throughout society. They’re more likely to be Black or Hispanic, younger, or immigrants.

Other credit invisibles are new to the country. When I moved to the United States 15 years ago, I found myself with no credit. Back in Australia, I owned a home, held credit cards, and had a strong credit history; however, none of that positive credit history moved with me. I soon learned that lacking credit is expensive, requiring me to put down sizeable deposits to rent an apartment and even connect utilities. I also faced extra hurdles in securing car insurance and limited options in obtaining credit.

This experience shaped my empathy and passion for helping people responsibly access credit as they pursue their lives and ambitions. One of the many reasons why I love working at Synchrony is that our company cares about financial inclusion. As a responsible employer, partner, lender and community member, we champion expanding access to credit for Americans and building a more inclusive economy.

Synchrony Addresses Financial Inclusion Across Multiple Dimensions

While Synchrony addresses financial inclusion in many different ways, I’m especially excited by our participation in the U.S. government’s Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s Project REACh. Through this initiative, we’ve partnered with other financial institutions to use bank and deposit account data with the consumer’s consent, combined with advanced underwriting techniques — including our cutting-edge credit decisioning system, called Synchrony PRISM — to approve people for their first credit card. The banks participating in Project REACh have developed new underwriting models and originated more than 100,000 new consumer accounts, of which Synchrony has underwritten a significant portion.

People without credit scores are often successfully managing financial commitments, including utilities and rent — factors that can be taken into consideration with the right data and analysis. Synchrony PRISM is transformational because it allows access to more and better data in real time, which adds context to the consumer behavior and enables a better assessment of a consumer’s creditworthiness than their credit score alone.

Gaining access to credit is often a first step toward financial stability. Within a year of receiving their first Synchrony credit card, more than 50 percent of our Project REACh customers have achieved and maintained a prime credit score, supporting our belief that many of those who have historically been locked out of the U.S. financial system will demonstrate their creditworthiness if given a chance. In addition to Project REACh, we’re also piloting a program that allows customers to opt into providing more details about their finances — e.g., checking and savings account information ­— so we can get a better view of their creditworthiness beyond a credit score alone.

We believe one of the best ways to assist credit invisibles is to meet them where they are already shopping by integrating financial inclusion programs with some of our partners. These programs help parents finance their holiday shopping and help families pay for an unexpected pet illness at one of our CareCredit partners.

Finally, we see education as part of our remit. Synchrony provides many Americans their first experience managing credit, therefore we offer educational tools and resources to our customers, improving their financial literacy.

From our products to our partnerships, every decision we make is driven from the understanding that with access to the right financing, people and businesses will thrive. As a credit risk professional, my team and I are constantly exploring new techniques and tools to help more people finance things that matter to them while aiming to protect them from becoming overextended. It’s meaningful, purpose-driven work.

Learn more about Synchrony’s impact and how we’re helping tens of millions of people pay for the things that matter to them.

Anita Chalkley is the senior vice president of credit acquisitions strategy at leading consumer financial services company Synchrony.