For Peralta, the solution was to find a way to use alternative ways of assessing the risk of lending to those potential borrowers.

That's where products such as RiskView, developed by LexisNexis Credit Risk Decisioning, comes in. The company, and others like it, are now using information such as data found in the nation's courthouses, licensing agencies and similar places to develop alternative credit histories.

For instance, RiskView evaluates how long a person has remained at a specific address, court filings, criminal convictions, education licensing and business association memberships, as well as more traditional financial information, in an effort to provide a clear picture of a person. Frequent address changes or decreasing property values can be an indication of economic problems, according to LexisNexis. Those evaluations are covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act – the same law that ensures the accuracy of traditional credit evaluations.

The need for such a product was clear, Ankush Tewari, senior director of Credit Risk Decisioning at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said.

"People without traditional credit scores cannot get credit," he said. "To get credit, you have to have credit. There is a huge number of American adults who don't have a credit history at all."

Many of those potential borrowers have never used credit and therefore have no credit history, Tewari said. Others may have damaged credit history, he said, adding that by using nontraditional credit evaluations, some of those people may still be able to borrow.

"Lenders needed a better tool," Tewari said.

Tewari said that RiskView can generate credit evaluations for 40 million of the 53 million consumers who do not have a credit score.

A survey conducted by Virsta Research for TransUnion last fall clearly demonstrated the skittishness among some lenders to loan money to individuals without a credit history. But the survey of 317 lenders – one third of which were credit unions – also showed the need to expand the customer or member bases of financial institutions.

More than 80% of the lenders agreed that lower-income borrowers need more help gaining access to financial services. However, 87% of the lenders also said they decline some applicants because their credit cannot be scored.

And 78% of the respondents reported extending credit to non-prime borrowers poses a significant challenge to their financial institutions. At the same time, 74% of those surveyed said acquiring new borrowers was increasingly difficult.

The survey showed credit unions were more likely to extend credit to "thin file" or "no file" borrowers. Some 97% of the credit unions were willing to take that risk as opposed to 84% of all financial institutions. However, only 16% of the credit unions used alternative means for assessing credit worthiness as opposed to one third of all financial institutions.

TransUnion has developed its own alternative credit rating program. CreditVision Link uses data such as property tax records, and checking and debit account records to assess the credit risk of prospective borrowers.

"Many banks and finance companies are realizing that emerging segments of the population – including millennials, minorities, immigrants and rural consumers – require different approaches and insight," Mike Mondelli, senior vice president of TransUnion's alternative data services, said.

Many of those consumers prefer to deal with a financial institution online rather than by visiting a physical office.

"This shift makes alternative data even more critical as lenders seek to gather the same type of intelligence on online consumers that they traditionally gathered in person," Mondelli said.

Traditional credit evaluations may disqualify an additional group – those who may have borrowed through high-interest, less traditional means. Some 1.8 million Americans have borrowed money through programs such as payday loans and loans against their vehicle titles, Peralta said.

"They don't have any other options," he said.

And they don't have a credit history. So, Nix and Kinecta developed a Payday Payoff Loan that relies on a borrower providing identification, utility bills, checking account information and proof of an outstanding payday loan that is in good standing. Many of those consumers have three or four payday loans, Peralta said.

The loan allows borrowers to consolidate their costly payday loans and make one payment each month.

"It also gives them room to breathe," he said.

Potential borrowers can find out for free if they qualify for a loan, after which there is a $49 application fee. Borrowers are required to visit a Nix branch to fill out applications only after they have been approved for a loan. Applications and other information are offered in English and Spanish, and the interest rate is capped at 18% APR.

And by using nontraditional credit verification methods, Nix is able to approve 50% of the applications – many more than financial institutions making different loans are able to approve.

"We are able to handle brand new members even without a prior relationship or membership with them," Peralta said.

The majority of those potential members earn less than $40,000 a year, are under 40 years of age and are African American or Hispanic, he added.

Kinecta wanted to ensure that its loans totaling less than $2,500 were sustainable, Tewari said. LexisNexis has been working with the credit union for two years; the Payday Payoff program began in 2014 at one Kintecta branch and has now been expanded to all branches. So far, Nix has made about 9,500 loans.

Tewari and Peralta agreed that challenges remain for lenders that use alternative credit rating programs. Tewari said LexisNexis must continue to educate lenders in an effort to make them comfortable using the new tools. They also must be assured the tools will withstand compliance reviews.