Itaucard Uses Real-Time Decisions from FICO Origination Solution to Compete in Mexico Card Market

SAO PAULO, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced that Itau Unibanco, Brazil's largest private sector bank and one of the largest globally, has grown its card portfolio in Mexico with FICO analytic software. Itaucard Mexico is using FICO™ Capstone™ Decision Accelerator to make instant online decisions on credit card applications.

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Mexico is an attractive card market for growth. According to Euromonitor, the number of credit cards in circulation jumped by 18 percent between 2006 and 2011, and is estimated to grow another 28 percent by 2016.  Currently, the credit card market is highly concentrated – 77 percent of the market is held by just three banks.

"We knew that to compete in Mexico we had to be very innovative," said Ricardo Toledo, marketing director for Itaucard Mexico. "We pursued a strategy of commercial alliances, whereby Itaucard would align with established, well-known consumer brands and get the benefit of their infrastructures and customer database."

Itaucard saw an opportunity to differentiate itself through excellent service and a customer-friendly application process for all channels, with real-time decisions. When approved, the customer could immediately charge against their new card. FICO Capstone Decision Accelerator is at the very core of this process.

"To create this high level of customer service required a combination of know-how and infrastructure," said Toledo. "The know-how is the expertise and market knowledge of our Itaucard team. The infrastructure means providing the team with the best tools to manage decisions and control risks, namely the FICO suite. The solution implementation was quick, and the systems are user-friendly, giving a lot of autonomy to our business analysts. We have the agility to adjust strategies when necessary, which is critical in a new market. This combination has enabled us to be innovative and challenge the market."

"Itaucard's approach was very disciplined," according to Robert Duque-Ribeiro, FICO vice president and managing director for Latin America. "The bank built an agile capability that enabled analytics and strategies that could be adapted to a new marketplace and would scale with the bank's success." Itaucard has been successfully using the same origination process powered by FICO™ Capstone™ Decision Accelerator in Paraguay, and intends to deploy it in Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. "FICO partnered with Itaucard to build a platform that can be easily extended from market to market and adapted to the particular characteristics of each country, while sharing a consistent technology and methodology," said Duque-Ribeiro.

About FICO
FICO (NYSE:FICO) delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company's groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO's innovative solutions include the FICO™ Score — the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States — along with industry-leading solutions for managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world's top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their personal credit health through www.myFICO.com. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count™.

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Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2012 and its last quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2012. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE FICO