Affordability report

Summary

Assessing a customer's affordability is a critical step in the lending process. To simplify this, Bud provides theGET v2_affordability_report' endpoint which consolidates key affordability metrics into a single, easy-to-use API call.

This endpoint delivers insights into a customer's financial position, including:

Net Discretionary Income
Essential vs Non-Essential Spending
Fixed vs Flexible Expenditure
Predictions for income and spending categories

If you're looking for a single API call to automate lending decisions with Assess, this is the one to use.

API Response Example

Below is an example response from the GET v2_affordability_report endpoint:

{
  "operation_id": "v2_affordability_report",
  "data": {
    "months_assessed": {
      "start": "2022-01",
      "end": "2022-03"
    },
    "accounts": {
      "connected": 3,
      "holder_names": [
        "John Doe"
      ],
      "missing_data": {
        "income": false,
        "expenditure": false
      }
    },
    "assessment": {
      "income": {
        "net_disposable": {
          "predicted_monthly": {
            "value": "1500.00",
            "currency": "GBP"
          },
          "_links": {
            "transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=net_disposable_income"
          }
        },
        "net_discretionary": {
          "predicted_monthly": {
            "value": "70.00",
            "currency": "GBP"
          },
          "_links": {
            "income_transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=net_disposable_income",
            "expenditure_transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=essential_expenditure"
          }
        }
      },
      "expenditure": {
        "fixed": {
          "predicted_monthly": {
            "value": "1000.00",
            "currency": "GBP"
          },
          "_links": {
            "transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=fixed_expenditure"
          }
        },
        "flexible": {
          "predicted_monthly_range": {
            "low": {
              "value": "10.00",
              "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "high": {
              "value": "100.00",
              "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "average": {
              "value": "56.00",
              "currency": "GBP"
            }
          },
          "_links": {
            "transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=flexible_expenditure"
          }
        },
        "essential": {
          "predicted_monthly": {
            "value": "500.00",
            "currency": "GBP"
          },
          "_links": {
            "transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=essential_expenditure"
          }
        },
        "non_essential": {
          "predicted_monthly": {
            "value": "80.00",
            "currency": "GBP"
          },
          "_links": {
            "transactions": "/affordability/v2/transactions?criteria=non_essential_expenditure"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Understanding the Data

The response provides a structured breakdown of affordability data:

Categorising Spending

It’s important to note that the types of data points we return aren’t exclusive to each other. Think of essential vs non-essential and fixed vs flexible as a matrix where categories of spending can fall into one of four cells. All of Bud’s 300 + categories can be represented in this way.

Fixed vs Flexible: Predictable monthly costs vs. variable expenses.
Essential vs Non-Essential: Necessary spending vs. discretionary purchases.
Spending Groups: Organised according to the Money Advice Service's Standard Financial Statement framework.

Income Metrics

Net Disposable Income: The customer’s total income after expenses.
Net Discretionary Income: What remains after deducting essential expenditure.

Customising Spending Groups

The affordability report endpoint uses the Money Advice Service's Standard Financial Statement as the default structure. Those needing more flexibility can speak to Bud about customising their category mapping by speaking to us.

Getting Started

Integrate the API: Use GET v2_affordability_report in your lending workflow.
Use links for deeper insights: Drill down into specific transactions.
Customise as needed: Leverage Bud’s flexible mapping for tailored affordability assessments by contacting us

If you have any questions, please contact us via the chatbot (bottom-right of screen 👉) or via a support request or check our FAQs.