Following the launch of a credit scoring program for use by consumers in the United States earlier this month, the data analytics company FICO is pitching the idea to Australian banks and other credit providers.FICO has been in the business of providing credit scoring systems for lenders' internal use for many years. It has a well-established business in Australia, with a team of around 200 supplying financial institutions with credit scoring systems, fraud prevention tools (including ANZ's Falcon) and other data analytics.Its new product, FICO Score Open Access, gives customers access to their FICO scores, the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US.Consumers will be able to see the factors that have contributed to their scores and will also have access to educational material that will help them understand how their financial behaviour affects their score.FICO's senior director of global scoring solutions, Rachel Bell, said Australia's comprehensive credit reporting regime, which starts in March next year, will open up the market for products of this kind.One of the new data elements in credit files will be payment history. Consumers will be rated for their payment performance, and any late payments will affect the score.Bell said: "Giving customers that information, along with some tools that will help them manage their score, will deepen customer engagement with the bank."We have been talking to the Australian banks about this and there is a lot of interest."FICO has already signed up Barclaycard US and First Bankcard in the US.FICO Score Open Access is similar to a consumer service that Veda launched earlier this year. VedaScore offers credit reports and credit alerts, as well as a score tracker.