ScanX Maintenance Guide

Overview

This document includes an overview of how to edit and customize an Agreement Express ScanX Scorecard. 

The ScanX solution is designed as a configurable risk automation solution that can either be paired with native front end for data collection or receive the merchant data through an API connection. The following documentation is a step-by-step guide on how you can configure and modify existing risk models within minutes to be able to take advantage of optimization and exploit new opportunities for your business.

Tools such as the library of preconfigured scoring rules and integrations, adjusting weighting for those, enabling auto-decision thresholds and underwriter recommendations are explained in detail to provide you with the insight you need to take full control of intelligent automated underwriting that accelerates time-to-revenue for any new business.

Table of Contents

ScanX Template Editor

To open the Template editor start in your workspace and click Administration. Templates.

A new tab in your browser will open up. Click on the pencil icon next to the scorecard you want to modify

Upon opening a previously built Scorecard, you’ll have access to the Scorecard Editor. The Editor allows for a variety of options, such as adding/removing fields, configuring scoring rules, and setting page weights. For our use-case of adjusting Scoring Rules, particularly the weights, select the “Scoring Rules & Weights“ button.

After selecting Scoring Rules & Weights option in the top toolbar , you can take the following actions:

• Adjust Page Weights

• Update Scoring Rule Weights

• Edit Scoring Rule Configuration Settings (Thresholds, Lookup Tables)

• Manage Your Scoring Model (Auto-Approve, Cutoff, Auto-Decline)

• Update Reason Codes

1. Adjusting Page Weights

Once selecting the “Scoring Rules & Weights“ option, the right side of the page will present an interface labeled “Overall Scorecard Weight”, where multiple options will be available to select from.
Scorecard & Thresholds provides the option of adjusting the weight for each page created.

The Page Scores should tally (or sum) to a total weight of 100 in order for the Scorecard to provide a score that an Underwriter can be reviewed. There is an option of setting the total weight to 0, allowing the Scorecard to act more as a Risk Flag-Only Scorecard - more on this later.  

2. Update Scoring Rule Weights

Within the “Scoring Rules & Weights“ section on the left-hand side, the individual weights can be set for each Scoring Rule.

All Scoring Rules within a page must sum to the total weight of 100. This allows for each Scoring Rules weight to be adjusted freely so that higher emphasis can be set to specific Scoring Rules.

If a weight of zero is assigned to a Scoring Rule, this allows it to act as a Risk Flag-Only rule. This provides the Underwriter with insight towards reviewing the Scoring Rule but it does not contribute to the overall score of the Scorecard.

3. Editing Scoring Rule Configuration Settings

Another useful tool in the Scoring Rules & Weights interface is the ability to configure the settings of your Scoring Rules.  To adjust the configuration of a scoring rule, select the rule in the Scoring Rules & Weights interface.  You will see the rule highlighted in grey, and the properties panel will display the configuration options.  

There are two different kinds of configuration settings depending on the type of rule you have selected.  

3.1 Threshold Rule Configuration

Some Scoring Rules leverage a Threshold-based configuration setting, allowing for them to act as a “Flag-Only” rule and not contribute to the overall score. These rules can be configured so that if a particular value is met, then a flag should be triggered.

In this example for the ‘Average Ticket Amount’ value, you can see that the review flag will be triggered if the value is greater than $2500.  Note, this is currency agnostic, and will work with any currency type your company application data leverages.  

Sample Threshold Table Below:

3.2 Lookup Table Rule Configuration

Most scoring rules use Lookup Table configurations.  These can be viewed in the Scorecard Builder Interface, but should be downloaded and updated in .csv format when making changes. 

Once you upload a table again, it will replace the existing settings for that rule.  This is how you can configure custom behaviors for each of the scoring rules on your ScanX Scorecard. 

To look at or modify a lookup table, click on a Rule → Click on 3 Dot Menu → Click Edit, Download or Upload CSV/Lookup Table.

Once you click view you will see a table with all the values pertaining to that scoring rule. This example is the MCC Code Check Lookup Table.

You can click into any of the rows and modify the data in the view mode. If you need to make large amounts of changes, you can also download the table as a csv and re-upload it after making mass changes.

By default all our scoring rule tables are configured on a medium risk tolerance and have been the average of all our past clients.

3.3 Scoring Rule Flags

An Active Review Flag will prevent the Automated decisioning mechanism (auto-approve) and will require the Underwriter to resolve before a decision can be made.

An Active Decline Flag will prevent the Automated decisioning mechanism (auto-approve) AND will change the Recommended Decision to be Decline regardless of the score. Therefor even if the score has a score of 90, as long as a Decline Flag is present, the System Decision will be Recommend Decline.

Prohibited Flags force decline the scorecard without any action by the Underwriter. A Prohibited Flag is not enabled by default on any scoring rules due to the severity of instantly declining a merchant. This is mainly used if there are certain rules such as MCC Code where you know with absolute certainty that you will never do business with this type of merchant

4. Scorecard Automated Decisions & System Recommendations

In the right side panel of the Scoring Rules & Weights Screen, you are able to adjust your risk scoring model. 

AEX always recommends that you do not enable automated decisions until you have analyzed 90+ days of real production data and your compliance and risk management and other key stakeholders have signed off on the change. The reason for this is to make sure the weights you set up are accurately reflecting each of the scoring rules you as an underwriter weigh most heavily upon making your decision. Over 3 months you will get a sense of the scores coming in and then you will learn what a good baseline would be to set up auto approve or decline.

Automated Decision Score Thresholds

The following controls allow you to control automated decision settings and system recommendations for your risk analyst(s).

Auto-Approve Threshold 

When a Scorecard generates a scorecard that surpasses the Auto-Approve Threshold, the Scorecard will automatically approve and a manual review from the Underwriter is not required.

However, if any Scoring Rule presents a Risk Flag, the Scorecard will not Auto-Approve and the Underwriter will need to review the Scorecard to determine the risk of the Merchant.

Cutoff

The cutoff determines if a scorecard has a system recommendation of Recommend Approve or Recommend Decline.  Any Scorecard with an overall score that is greater than the Cutoff will be Recommend Approve (unless it is auto-approved).  Any Scorecard with an overall score that is lesser than the Cutoff will be Recommended Decline (unless it is auto-declined).  

Auto-Decline Threshold

Any scorecard with an overall score under the Auto-Decline Threshold will be declined without manual review required.  If there are review flags triggered, the Scorecard will be placed in the manual review queue, regardless of the Auto-Decline Threshold.  If there is a Prohibited Flag active on the Scorecard,  it will always Auto-Decline without requiring manual review. 

Manual vs Automated Risk Scoring Model Examples

Again, AEX recommends you do not enable automated decisions until at least 3 months worth of live production data has been gathered. This is so that you are familiar with the scores you are getting and you aren’t setting a threshold that is too high or too low for your risk tollerance.

See visuals of both a manual and automated risk model below.

Manual Risk Model Explanation

• Auto-Approval (100) - Auto-Approve is not enabled. 100 is the maximum possible Risk Score.

• Recommend Approve (50-100) - If no Decline or Prohibited Flags are active, Scorecards with an Overall Score from 50-100 will be in Recommend Approve status

• Recommend Decline (0-50) - If the Score is between 0-50 and no Prohibited Flag is triggered the Scorecard Status will be Recommend Decline. All Scorecards with a score between 50-100 with an active Decline Flag will also be Recommend Decline.

• Auto-Decline (0) - Auto-Decline is not enabled for the Overall Score. However, if you have enabled the <Prohibited Flag> Type, and it is triggered by a risk rule, then the Application will be Auto-Declined. The use of prohibited flags is optional and can be configured for specific industries, processing volumes, poor credit scores, and more.

Automated-Decision Risk Scoring Model

• Auto-Approval (75) - Any Scorecards with a score over 75 that do not have any risk flags triggered will be Approved without Underwriter Manual Review

• Recommend Approve (50-75) - If no Decline or Prohibited Flags are active, Scorecards with an Overall Score from 50-75 will be in Recommend Approve status

• Recommend Decline (25-50) - If the Score is between 25-50 and no Prohibited Flag is triggered the Scorecard Status will be Recommend Decline. All Scorecards with a score between 50-100 with an active Decline Flag will also be Recommend Decline.

• Auto-Decline (0-25) - All Scorecards with an Overall Score from 0-25 will be Auto-Declined. Also, any scorecards with an active Prohibited Flag will be Auto-Declined. No Manual Underwriter Review will be required

5. Updating Your Risk Reason Codes

In the Scoring Rules & Weights screen, you are able to manage the Reason Codes which will be available for your Risk Analyst to select from. The Scorecard supports the following Reason Code categories and default options:

Decline Reason Codes 

• Fraudulent
• High Risk Business Model
• Insufficient Credit
• Other

Pending Reason Codes 

• Missing Information
• Missing Documents
• Other

Cancelled Reason Codes

• Duplicate Application
• Incomplete Application
• Already have a merchant account
• No response to pending request
• Other

Additional Reason Codes can be added to any of the decision options that best suit your business needs.