Shadow mode
Test Creditcrest on your own applications before you switch anything on.
For about 30 days, send each application with your own decision. Creditcrest reads the statement, runs your policy and the score, and shows where it agrees with you and where it doesn’t.
No applicant sees anything. No contract, no message, no money.
Example Lending, an invented lender: 11 invented applications, 1 August 2026 to 31 August 2026. Some of its decisions were chosen to differ.
- Applications
- 11
- Agree
- 6 of 10
- Opposite
- 2
- One side refers
- 2
60% agree. Every one was tested in full at arrival.
Where you differ
SH-1002 · 5 Aug · You: Declined · Creditcrest: To a person One side refers
You declined it; Creditcrest would have sent it to a person first: monthly surplus at least $0 (provisional); signal small_amount_credit is absent.
monthly surplus at least $0
Not met. monthly surplus is -$864.11. This referral test requires at least $0. The surplus after planned living expenses, liabilities and the repayment. A shortfall goes to a person. Provisional: at arrival, from the statement and the application. The assessor’s figure replaces it.
The provisional working: income $2,556.67 − living expenses $2,520.27 − credit $708.50 − the repayment $192.01 = -$864.11 a month.
The figures
- Government benefit · $2,556.67 a month · The lower of declared and bank.
- 24 July · CENTRELINK BENEFIT PAYMENT · $1,180.00
- 10 July · CENTRELINK BENEFIT PAYMENT · $1,180.00
- 26 June · CENTRELINK BENEFIT PAYMENT · $1,180.00
- Loan repayment · $390.00 a month · The bank data: a repayment that recurs.
- 14 July · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- 30 June · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- 16 June · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- Buy now pay later · $138.67 a month · The bank data: a repayment that recurs.
- 12 July · AFTERPAY INSTALMENT 88213 · -$64.00
- 28 June · AFTERPAY INSTALMENT 88213 · -$64.00
- 14 June · AFTERPAY INSTALMENT 88213 · -$64.00
- Buy now pay later · $97.50 a month · The bank data: a repayment that recurs.
- 17 July · ZIP PAY AUTOPAY · -$45.00
- 3 July · ZIP PAY AUTOPAY · -$45.00
- 19 June · ZIP PAY AUTOPAY · -$45.00
- Buy now pay later · $82.33 a month · The bank data: a repayment that recurs.
- 19 July · HUMM GROUP LIMITED · -$38.00
- 5 July · HUMM GROUP LIMITED · -$38.00
- 21 June · HUMM GROUP LIMITED · -$38.00
- Rent · $1,621.62 a month · The higher of declared and bank.
- 7 July · RENT RAY WHITE FOOTSCRAY · -$1,600.00
- 6 June · RENT RAY WHITE FOOTSCRAY · -$1,600.00
- 7 May · RENT RAY WHITE FOOTSCRAY · -$1,600.00
- Groceries · $432.43 a month · The higher of declared and bank.
- 4 Aug · COLES 0421 FOOTSCRAY VIC · -$140.00
- 28 July · COLES 0421 FOOTSCRAY VIC · -$50.00
- 21 July · COLES 0421 FOOTSCRAY VIC · -$80.00
- Bank fees and interest · $10.14 a month · The higher of declared and bank.
- 20 July · DISHONOUR FEE · -$15.00
- 5 June · DISHONOUR FEE · -$15.00
- Gambling · $456.08 a month · The higher of declared and bank. A plan to spend less never reduces it.
- 30 July · SPORTSBET PTY LTD DEPOSIT xxxx4421 · -$150.00
- 22 July · SPORTSBET PTY LTD DEPOSIT xxxx4421 · -$210.00
- 14 July · SPORTSBET PTY LTD DEPOSIT xxxx4421 · -$30.00
signal small_amount_credit is absent
Not met. signal small_amount_credit is present. This referral test requires the signal to be absent. Other small loans in the bank data: the lender's own judgement.
severity: high · count: 5 · statement: Payments to businesses whose products commonly include small amount credit contracts. What follows from it is the lender’s own assessment.
- 19 May · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- 2 June · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- 16 June · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- 30 June · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
- 14 July · NIMBLE LOAN REPAYMENT DD · -$180.00
Score, in shadow: 754, class CCC, uncalibrated.
Seal fc238b40c89ea332…
SH-1004 · 12 Aug · You: Declined · Creditcrest: Conditions met Opposite
You declined it, and every condition was met. Your reason: EMPLOYMENT_UNVERIFIED. Worth knowing whether the policy should test that.
Score, in shadow: 832, class BB, uncalibrated. Its suggested amount: $1,500.00 over 6 months.
Seal 740f76e8d5c71961…
SH-1005 · 15 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Condition not met Opposite
You approved it, and a condition was not met: statement days at least 90. Either your file holds a reason the policy does not see, or your practice and your policy differ.
statement days at least 90
Not met. statement days is 60. This rule requires at least 90. 90 days of bank data.
from: 2026-06-16 · to: 2026-08-14
Score, in shadow: 765, class CCC, uncalibrated.
Seal a4a6773bab3be5a4…
SH-1006 · 20 Aug · You: Referred · Creditcrest: Conditions met One side refers
You referred it; no test in the policy would send it to a person.
Score, in shadow: 839, class BB, uncalibrated. Its suggested amount: $700.00 over 3 months.
Seal a703ec545d7b6996…
Same outcome, different figures
SH-1003 · 8 Aug · You: Referred · Creditcrest: To a person Agree
You referred it, and Creditcrest would send it to a person too: declared income difference at most 15%.
declared income difference at most 15%
Not met. declared income difference is 26.62%. This referral test requires no more than 15%. Declared and verified income agree within 15%.
declaredMonthly: 3553.33 · verifiedMonthly: 4842.5 · difference: -1289.17 · direction: below
- 20 May · DIRECT CREDIT 118204 HARBOURSIDE AGED CARE PAYROLL · $3,553.33
- 15 May · DIRECT CREDIT 55120 CORNER CAFE PTY LTD WAGES · $1,289.17
Income: Creditcrest $4,842.50, you $4,200.00 a month · +$642.50 · material
Regular income the statement verified, a month. Other credits are shown beside it, not in it.
- DIRECT CREDIT 118204 HARBOURSIDE AGED CARE PAYROLL · fortnightly · $3,553.33 a month
- 29 July · DIRECT CREDIT 118204 HARBOURSIDE AGED CARE PAYROLL · $1,550.00
- 15 July · DIRECT CREDIT 118204 HARBOURSIDE AGED CARE PAYROLL · $1,730.00
- 1 July · DIRECT CREDIT 118204 HARBOURSIDE AGED CARE PAYROLL · $1,670.00
- DIRECT CREDIT 55120 CORNER CAFE PTY LTD WAGES · weekly · $1,289.17 a month
- 7 Aug · DIRECT CREDIT 55120 CORNER CAFE PTY LTD WAGES · $297.50
- 31 July · DIRECT CREDIT 55120 CORNER CAFE PTY LTD WAGES · $272.50
- 24 July · DIRECT CREDIT 55120 CORNER CAFE PTY LTD WAGES · $347.50
Score, in shadow: 796, class B, uncalibrated. Its suggested amount: $2,100.00 over 3 months.
Seal dc87b1b189dc4770…
SH-1008 · 28 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Conditions met Agree
You approved it, and every condition was met.
Income: Creditcrest $5,156.67, you $5,633.33 a month · -$476.66 · material
Regular income the statement verified, a month. Other credits are shown beside it, not in it.
- DIRECT CREDIT 049211 ACME LOGISTICS PAYROLL · fortnightly · $5,156.67 a month
- 19 Aug · DIRECT CREDIT 049211 ACME LOGISTICS PAYROLL · $2,200.00
- 5 Aug · DIRECT CREDIT 049211 ACME LOGISTICS PAYROLL · $2,560.00
- 22 July · DIRECT CREDIT 049211 ACME LOGISTICS PAYROLL · $2,440.00
Living expenses: Creditcrest $1,489.47, you $1,408.33 a month · +$81.14 · material
Living expenses: all spending less recurring housing and credit repayments, a month.
- Groceries · $722.53 a month
- Insurance · $199.05 a month
- Utilities · $154.32 a month
- Transport and fuel · $145.00 a month
- Eating out and takeaway · $130.07 a month
Score, in shadow: 839, class BB, uncalibrated. Its suggested amount: $1,200.00 over 3 months.
Seal 65a2fe02b4e454f7…
Figures, a month
Creditcrest’s figure less yours. Yours are made monthly first.
- Income · 4 compared · median $0.00, middle half -$119.17 to +$160.63 · 2 apart by $50 or more
- Living expenses · 2 compared · median +$26.97, middle half -$0.11 to +$54.05 · 1 apart by $50 or more
- Housing · 1 compared · median +$5.00 · 0 apart by $50 or more
- Credit repayments · 1 compared · median -$25.66 · 0 apart by $50 or more
The score beside your decisions
In shadow and uncalibrated. It declines nobody.
- Approved · 5 scored · median 842 · BB ×4, CCC ×1
- Declined · 3 scored · median 818 · CCC ×1, BB ×2
- Referred · 2 scored · median 817.5 · B ×1, BB ×1
- Amount · on 4 you approved, the score suggested the same amount on all 4
Not tested
What the policy could not test on what was sent. A test not run in shadow will not run live either.
- Every test that applies at arrival ran.
For your assessor
assessment complete is true— 11 of 11. Your assessor checks it, after arrival.
Not applicable
spending reduction shortfall at most 5%— 11 of 11. A first-time applicant has no earlier commitment to spend less.protected earnings met is true— 1 of 11. The protected earnings amount applies only to a small amount credit contract, and this is a medium amount one.
Every application
- SH-1001 · 2 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Conditions met Agree
- SH-1002 · 5 Aug · You: Declined · Creditcrest: To a person One side refers
- SH-1003 · 8 Aug · You: Referred · Creditcrest: To a person Agree
- SH-1004 · 12 Aug · You: Declined · Creditcrest: Conditions met Opposite
- SH-1005 · 15 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Condition not met Opposite
- SH-1006 · 20 Aug · You: Referred · Creditcrest: Conditions met One side refers
- SH-1007 · 24 Aug · You: Declined · Creditcrest: Condition not met Agree
- SH-1008 · 28 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Conditions met Agree
- SH-1009 · 30 Aug · You: Withdrawn · Creditcrest: Conditions met Not compared
- SH-1010 · 31 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Conditions met Agree
- SH-1011 · 31 Aug · You: Approved · Creditcrest: Conditions met Agree
The seal
The report’s SHA-256. Change any comparison in it and the report no longer checks.
3c4993fe29a5aa8d87aecbcc2e14c802a8476d67ab05715fb9a2b3754288f8aa
Run it on your own
POST /v1/shadow with your key: up to 50 applications a call, each with your outcome. You get a sealed comparison for each and a report. POST /v1/shadow/report reports over any period from the comparisons you kept. What to send · Reference
Before going live
What to look for
- At least 30 days, and enough applications to see each of your outcomes.
- Every opposite read and explained, by rule or by your reason.
- Agreement you are content with, and the reasons it is not higher.
- Income within $50 a month in most files, and every larger gap explained.
- Nothing left under “Not tested” that your policy needs.