MorganAsh has launched a new consumer vulnerability assessment tool to help mortgage advisers and firms understand and manage consumer vulnerability.

The MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) provides an objective measurement rating like the familiar credit score used by lenders across the UK. 

The tool has been launched in line with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, which came into force in February 2021.

The current guidance is set to be strengthened by a new consumer duty paper, which is currently out for consultation.

MARS will collate the information from consumers and their advisers, to calculate a resilience rating to help manage consumer vulnerability.

The system can be used as a standalone tool or integrated with a firm’s CRM via secure application programming interface (API) links. 

MARS has already been integrated with systems from Intelliflo and Iress, with more integrations planned.

MorganAsh also reveals that St James’ Place (SJP) is using the new tool and has started providing its partners with access to MARS.

Financial vulnerability task force chair Keith Richards says: “The current regulatory focus on vulnerability provides a timely opportunity to improve how we can recognise and address vulnerable circumstances, whilst also demonstrating individual care and empathy.”

“Good practice principles and the use of fintech, such as the MorganAsh MARS tool, can greatly improve our ability to assess, store and communicate vulnerability across and between organisations,” Richards adds. 

MorganAsh managing director Andrew Gething comments: “Just as a credit score is used to simply communicate wealth, MARS is used to communicate health and resilience. By using MARS, advisers and firms can simply enter their client’s details, and the tool does the rest.”