FICO and FINRA Foundation Celebrate 14 Years of Financial Education Partnership to Empower Military Families

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07/22/2024 - 08:00 AM

In recognition of Military Consumer Awareness Month in July, FICO reinforces partnership that provides active-duty service members and their spouses free access to their FICO^® Scores

BOZEMAN, Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FICO, a leading analytics software firm, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation, celebrate their longstanding and continued partnership. For fourteen years, FICO and FINRA Foundation have brought financial education resources to United States’ active-duty service members and their spouses by providing military financial educators and counselors for the Department of Defense and Coast Guard Personal Financial Management Programs.

Throughout the partnership, military financial educators and FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship Accredited Financial Counselors^® have provided active military members with their FICO^® Scores, credit reports, and other financial educational information and tools from myFICO.com for free, providing access to hundreds of thousands of military families.

Research by the Military Family Advisory Network has shown that more than three-quarters (75.8%) of military and veteran family members surveyed report they carry debt, with over 80% indicating that their finances have caused them stress. Additionally, the Pew Research Center has reported that about a third of veterans (35%) report difficulty paying their bills during their first few years transitioning back to civilian life. Together, these figures highlight the importance of providing military members and their families with access to educational resources to empower them in their credit education journeys and financial lives.

WATCH: FINRA Foundation Provides Free FICO Scores to Military Service Members

“There’s no greater honor than being able to support the great men and women who serve our country,” said Geoff Smith, vice president and general manager of Consumer Scores at FICO. “It is with tremendous pride that FICO continues to provide financial education and resources to our service members and their families by offering free access to their credit scores, credit reports and related resources through our ongoing partnership with FINRA Investor Education Foundation.”

Through engagement with military financial educators and FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellows eligible personnel can access their FICO^® Scores for free as well as gain insight to understand what may be helping or hurting their credit scores, simulate how different actions may impact their scores, and develop action plans.

“Our partnership has been very impactful, and we are proud to continue our work with FICO,” said Gerri Walsh, President of the FINRA Foundation. “Empowering service members and their spouses to achieve their financial dreams is a mission we work toward each day, and we are thrilled to be able to help so many on their credit education journey through this endeavor.”

Active-duty service members and their spouses interested in obtaining their FICO Scores should contact the military financial educator at their nearby base/installation. Or they can visit www.finrafoundation.org/creditscore for more information.

For over 30 years, FICO^® Scores have been the industry standard for determining a person's credit risk. Today, more than 90% of top U.S. lenders use FICO Scores to help them make faster, fairer, and more accurate lending decisions. FICO offers other resources to help people kick start their financial literacy and credit education journey. For example, myFICO lets consumers check and monitor their FICO Score for free. Plus, FICO continually updates the website and app with credit education materials and tools that can help people better understand how credit works.

About the FINRA Investor Education Foundation

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation supports innovative research and educational projects that empower underserved Americans with the knowledge, skills, and tools to make sound financial decisions throughout life. Since 2006, the Foundation has delivered free, unbiased financial education tools and training to service members, their spouses and military and financial educators through on-base educational forums, professional development training programs and online and printed educational resources. The Foundation holds both a Statement of Support with the Department of Defense in support of DoD’s Financial Readiness Network and a USCG Qualified Organization Designation. Learn more about the FINRA Foundation at www.finrafoundation.org.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.

About FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO® Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency. Learn more at www.fico.com.

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