FinTech Powered by CRS @ SF Hacks 2026

CRS Credit API — FinTech Powered by CRS

Build the next generation of credit, fraud & compliance solutions.

Prize Details

Compete for track-specific prizes and recognition.

$1,000 Cash Prize

First Place

$500 Cash Prize

Second Place

A Portable Charger

Third Place

Getting Started

Connect to the CRS Credit API sandbox and make your first request in minutes.

Sandbox base URL https://api-sandbox.stitchcredit.com:443/api

Enter your email.

CRS will send you an email to create your account and retrieve your credentials.

Follow the steps that were emailed to you.

You will be prompted to access your account in the CRS portal.

In a separate email, you will receive a link to your Postman collection containing all the requests needed for the products we have given to you.

Review API documentation.

Additional documentation can be found in the postman collection that was emailed to you.

This will include an outline of the API flow for our products, OpenAPI specifications, and test cases you can try.

Use our MCP for development help!

We have created a MCP server with Claude Code that you can query with all of your planning, development, and debugging questions.

View MCP documentation to get started →

Making your first API call

Use the sample code below to authenticate and send a request to the CRS sandbox.

Authenticate & make a basic request
# These requests will also be found in your postman collection.

# Get an access token (Bearer auth)
curl --location 'https://api-sandbox.stitchcredit.com:443/api/users/login' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Accept: application/json' \
--data '{
  "username": "YOUR_USERNAME",
  "password": "YOUR_PASSWORD"
}'

# Example: request credit report (use the token from the response above)
curl --location 'https://api-sandbox.stitchcredit.com:443/api/experian/credit-profile/credit-report/standard/exp-prequal-vantage4' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Accept: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_RECIEVED_IN_AUTH_STEP' \
--data '{
    "firstName": "KYLIA",
    "middleName": "",
    "lastName": "PAOLIMELLI",
    "suffix": "",
    "birthDate": "1920-01-01",
    "ssn": "666285642",
    "addresses": [
        {
            "borrowerResidencyType": "Current",
            "addressLine1": "406 E JEMEZ ST",
            "addressLine2": "",
            "city": "HOBBS",
            "state": "NM",
            "postalCode": "882403443"
        }
    ]
}'

About CRS

CRS is the #1 independent credit data API, providing comprehensive credit reporting solutions and compliance tools. As a certified Credit Reporting Agency partnered with Experian and Equifax, CRS simplifies access to regulated financial data with a unified platform built for speed, security, and scale.

Credit data is not one-size-fits-all. Across credit bureaus and alternative data sources, CRS crafts the best solution for your needs.

2,800+ credit data attributes
<3 sec tri-bureau response time
99.9% uptime guarantee
10+ financial data sources via single API
10X faster than industry standard
$1B+ facilitated for CRS customers
25+ years credit industry expertise
#1 independent credit data API

CRS is the independent data infrastructure platform powering modern credit decisioning. We unify credit, identity, fraud, and monitoring data into a single, standardized layer built for regulated environments—so you can focus on building, not integrating.

  • Unified Access: Single API connects to Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, plus public records and alternative data
  • SOC 2 Type II Certified: Enterprise-grade security and compliance
  • Guided Compliance: Expert support navigating FCRA and regulatory requirements
  • Fast Integration: Get up and running in under 2 weeks

Products & Capabilities

Credit Data

Consumer and business credit reports (soft & hard pull), FICO and Vantage score models, debt and state filings. Add-ons: OFAC, Income Score, MLA.

Know Your Customer

Identity verification, public record data, background checks, and income verification—all built for compliance and confidence.

Technology Access

One API for all bureaus (CRS Standard Format), CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zoho), FinStack platform, and partner programs.

Credit Building & Monitoring

eCredit Monitoring™ for consumer credit tracking, batch portfolio monitoring, marketing lists, and data furnishing (coming soon).

Solutions by Industry

Consumer lending, tenant screening, fintech & BNPL, auto financing, bankruptcy & legal, commercial lending, credit unions, non-profit housing counseling, lead generation, and more.

Who's Building with Credit Data

Learn from successful fintech companies leveraging credit APIs.

Credit Building

Bilt Rewards

Rent reporting and rewards platform that helps renters build credit by turning monthly rent payments into positive credit history.

What they do: Reports on-time rent payments to credit bureaus and lets users earn points on rent.

The insight: Rent is usually someone's biggest monthly expense—Bilt turns that into both credit history and financial value.

Impact: Renters get credit-building value and rewards from the payment they already make every month.

Lending

Petal

Alternative Credit Underwriting

What they do: Credit card issuer using cash flow and bank transaction data instead of traditional credit scores.

The insight: Income, spending patterns, and savings are strong creditworthiness signals. Petal analyzes bank data to approve users with thin or no credit files.

Impact: Helps young adults and underserved populations access credit cards and build credit history.

Debt Management

Cascade

Credit & Debt Optimization

What they do: Debt payoff platform that optimizes credit utilization and repayment strategies.

The insight: Better debt management directly improves credit profiles. Cascade uses credit data insights to guide users toward healthier financial behavior.

Impact: Motivates users with data-driven strategies to reduce debt and improve credit scores.

Automation

Zapier

Credit Workflow Automation

What they do: Automation platform connecting credit APIs to 6,000+ business tools.

The insight: Most businesses need credit data in their workflows but lack developers. Zapier enables no-code automation of credit checks, monitoring, and alerts.

Impact: Eliminates manual processes, syncs credit data across CRMs, spreadsheets, and notification systems.

Infrastructure

Nova Credit

Cross-Border Credit Infrastructure

What they do: Credit data platform enabling cross-border credit reporting and alternative underwriting.

The insight: Immigrants lack local credit history despite being creditworthy. Nova Credit's Credit Passport® lets people port credit histories across countries.

Impact: Unlocks financial services for immigrants and blends traditional bureau data with bank/payroll sources for complete risk profiles.

Infrastructure

Plaid

Financial Data Infrastructure for Credit Products

What they do: An API platform that lets apps securely connect to users' bank accounts and access transactions, balances, income, and identity data.

The insight: Plaid enables fintechs to move beyond static credit scores by using real-time financial behavior for underwriting, onboarding, and personalization.

Impact: Teams can imagine products that combine cash-flow data + credit reporting + automation to build smarter lending, monitoring, and financial health tools.

Project Ideas

Explore creative hackathon project concepts centered around credit data, decisioning, and financial intelligence. You can follow one of the suggested directions below or define your own problem to solve using real-world credit insights.

These examples are meant to inspire, not limit you. Feel free to expand on them, combine ideas, or build something entirely new.

Open-Ended Ideas

Credit score improvement dashboard DashboardCredit

Build a user-facing dashboard that pulls credit data via the CRS API and visualizes score factors, history, and actionable tips. Help users understand what moves the needle and track progress over time.

Credit anomaly detection tool DetectionAlerts

Monitor credit report data for unexpected changes: new accounts, balance spikes, or score drops. Send alerts (email, SMS, or in-app) so users catch errors or fraud early.

Financial health insights platform InsightsUX

Combine credit data with simple budgeting or goal-setting. Surface a "financial health" score and clear next steps (e.g. pay down utilization, dispute errors) with links to CRS-powered data.

Alternative credit scoring model MLScoring

Use CRS data plus optional alternative signals (rent, utilities, cash flow) to train a simple model or heuristic that predicts creditworthiness. Compare to traditional scores and discuss fairness and explainability.

Unique angle Problem-Solving Focus: Credit Data Anomalies

Identify and flag issues in credit data—duplicates, mismatches, unusual patterns, and fraud.

Duplicate account detection AnomalyTradelines

Identify and flag duplicate tradelines in credit data—same account reported twice or under different names. Help consumers and lenders clean their data and avoid double-counting.

Identity verification mismatches AnomalyIdentity

Catch SSN/name discrepancies across sources—e.g. same SSN with different names or DOB. Surface mismatches for review to reduce identity fraud and reporting errors.

Unusual activity patterns AnomalyPatterns

Detect sudden score drops, unexplained new accounts, or rapid balance changes. Alert users or lenders to possible errors, identity theft, or high-risk behavior.

Data quality issues AnomalyQuality

Find incomplete or inconsistent reporting—missing dates, mismatched status codes, or fields that violate expected formats. Produce a data quality report or score for a given file or API response.

Fraud detection AnomalyFraud

Identify suspicious credit patterns that may indicate synthetic identity, bust-out, or application fraud. Combine multiple signals (new accounts, velocity, inconsistencies) into a risk score or flag.

Judging Criteria

Teams will be judged on these criteria. Judges will weigh the criteria equally. During judging, participants should try to describe what they did for each criterion in their project.

All projects must use the CRS Credit API to be eligible for track prizes.

Idea

How well does it align with the theme and track?

Implementation

All features presented are working. Complexity of project and features?

Design

Is the user interface intuitive for users? How does the design lead users to different features? Is it scalable?

Presentation

Why did you decide to make this your project—what problem are you trying to solve? Hardships and overcoming them (problem solving)? Clearly explain features.

Track Application

How well did you utilize the technologies or problems of this track?

Real-World Application

Does the project address a real problem? Would it help real people or businesses—e.g. better access to credit, fewer errors, or clearer insights?