Credit record overconfidence and alternative financial service use

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the effect of credit record overconfidence on the use of alternative financial services (AFSs).Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS), the authors estimate logistic regressions on the use of at least one AFS by adding a credit record confidence variable that captures deviations between self-assessments of credit record management and the number of reported behaviors that would negatively affect aspects of a Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) score.FindingsThe authors find that respondents with credit record overconfidence have over two times higher odds (123.9%) of using AFS than the odds of respondents with financial knowledge overconfidence (46.8%), relative to their reference categories. When compared directly, those with only credit record overconfidence have 32.6% higher odds of using AFS than those with only financial knowledge overconfidence.Practical implicationsThe results provide implications for education programs, not only for vulnerable groups at higher risk for AFS use but also for those with cognitive biases, such as credit record overconfidence. Potential solutions include personal financial education that includes debiasing and behavioral techniques for overconfidence.Originality/valueThis paper studies, for the first time, the effect of deviations between actual and perceived credit record management on AFS use.