Andy Rawlings looked past the priest at his bombshell wife-to-be. His heart beat a little faster. He had found Malina on a specialist dating site a couple of weeks ago, and he could feel how his fortunes were about to change.

Malina had over 40 million followers on Tik Tok, a little less on Facebook and Instagram, but that wasn’t her biggest asset. Her Individual Social Cred Score (ISCS) was a whopping 94%, compared to Andy’s measly ISCS of 17%. With Andy’s low ISCS, he couldn’t buy airline tickets, he couldn’t rent a car, he couldn’t even order groceries online.

The social credit scoring system that started in China back in 2022, was initially seen by the western world as a gross governmental overreach. However, the financial industry saw merit in it, as people’s financial credit scores did not show the full picture of their ability, or willingness, to honor debt and do everything to repay creditors.

At the end of 2026, Limited Union Bank was the first to implement a more comprehensive score, taking the individual’s social behaviour and context into the equation, with tremendous success. Their clients’ credit default rate fell to around 0.5%. Within six months, all major banks and credit providers had implemented similar schemes.

Being blacklisted under these new rules was catastrophic, as not only did you need to get your finances in order, but you also had to re-engineer your whole life! Which opened up massive opportunities for entrepreneurs like Malina. She had a perfect ISCS, and by helping the less fortunate (aka the Andy Rawlings guys) her ISCS grew.

Her offering varied from simple social tagging, inclusion at VIP parties, dinner dates, and engagements, depending on how much the client wanted their ISCS to increase. The ultimate service is a five-year marriage contract.

In the old days, when down on their financial luck, royals could marry a wealthy commoner, to improve their situation and provide access to titles. Now, the new social aristocrats can give you instant access to a whole new world. And the right marriage can change your life.

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Financial services companies are constantly looking for more data and insights into customer behaviour, from transactional data and spending patterns to wellness and broader lifestyle data, all in the quest to know their customers better. For more insights into the future of Consumer and Fintech innovations and businesses we have helped commercialize across the financial services landscape, please contact Futureworld partner Gottfried Rautenbach.