With the support of the Center for Civic Innovation, I have spent the past two years researching low-income credit scoring as it relates to housing and renting in the Charlottesville area. Low and non-existent credit scores are a common issue we encountered working with housing organizations, however, credit scores are difficult to address directly, as they are managed in a black-box system. Moreover, the traditional banking software at banks such as Chase, Capital One, and BoA is not nearly as up-to-speed as one might hope.
We began researching blockchain products such as multi-signature wallets, decentralized IDs, and legally binding wrappers - and have greatly simplified the process of managing group funding and issuing credit cards. Working with an international team we now have a process that allows us to issue Visa credit cards and assert credit scores as easily as issuing a library card and checking out a book. We are now promoting this process to find partners interested in more equitable and secure methods of improving credit scores and financial literacy locally and abroad.
