The opportunistic nature of hackers means that a global crisis can create the perfect breeding ground for fraudulent activity, meaning businesses and consumers need to be even more vigilant. View Infographic

There’s a digital payments revolution, and mobile is leading the charge. But at what cost does convenience come? Juniper Research’s latest online payment fraud report explores key issues around increased cybercrime and what that means for businesses looking to invest in fraud prevention. View infographic

Digital interactions between businesses and consumers are on the rise. The ability to authenticate and recognize customers provides a convenient and secure experience. However, the latest Global ID & Fraud Report shows a significant disparity in perception between businesses and consumers when it comes to recognition. View Infographic

The interesting thing about fraud is that it’s always changing. Fraudsters are getting smarter, and fraud threats are constantly evolving. Businesses need to be agile and prepared to quickly shift their fraud strategies to stay a step ahead of emerging fraud threats. Traditionally, it's been very difficult for businesses to keep up – every time they see a shift, new fraud signals must be employed, which means looking at new intelligence signals in order to counter that fraud and then moving through a process of procurement and qualification, and then implementation and integration, of fraud services in order to manage the change. With time of the essence, businesses can no longer wait months to react. They need to be able to react in real-time. Biggest threats for 2020 Covid-19 has accelerated online payment transactions, making way for massive cyber security and data fraud concerns among banks and retailers. The idea of doing more digital business, picking up customers digitally, providing a great digital experience is going to be more and more important as we move through the pandemic. Even businesses which traditionally see most of their customer traffic through bricks and mortar might start to see that shift. All of this means that there is more opportunity for fraudsters to be part of the process and to take advantage of that digital interaction. The risk of fraud is going to increase as more people go digital – In part because of sheer numbers, and in part because more of the people who are going online now maybe doing so for the first time. So companies and consumers alike are less prepared for that kind of interaction. Account opening is likely to drop because of Covid-19, but we should expect to see a sharp increase in account take over fraud. There are a lot of people who are being forced to go online now to transact. They may need to turn to ecommerce. They may need to look at online banking to move their banking online. But the point is, they may never have gone online to perform these tasks before. Many vendors have been rapidly rolling out new technology solutions to help banks and retailers manage this new online demand, which has potentially exacerbated digital fragmentation, privacy concerns, and governance expectations. The importance of continuous risking and self-service The speed at which fraudsters adapt to new technology and behavior has always been a problem, but now that we are seeing sudden and unpredictable change, reacting at speed with new fraud strategies has never been more important for businesses. Typically, businesses need to move through validation, contract and then integration in order to do this – making for a long and tedious (not to mention expensive) process. The new release of CrossCore will pre-qualify fraud and intelligence services so that they are pre-integrated meaning that businesses can choose how they want their transactions to be processed, which fraud and identity services they want to use, and they can do so through simple self-service. There is also a feedback loop where reports are generated on how much fraud was detected. Businesses can access their feedback loop almost in real-time and see if their fraud strategies are working or not, and then adjust things as they go. Customer experience when all of your customers are online The ability to passively and strongly identify a customer is a difficult balance to strike when the goal is not to inconvenience the user. And now that most consumers are running their lives online, they demand not only a secure experience, but a convenient one too. To achieve this, a lot of signals about that person are collected. These range from device characteristics and who it is registered with, to behavior on the device and whether these signals match up to the same person. In order to process this data, the signal streams that come in must be considered and then almost in real-time, fraud analytics allow a decision to be made on whether the interaction is with a genuine person or a fraudster. To be able to reduce friction while passively and strongly identifying a person, advanced analytics becomes integral. More about how our latest upgrades can help your business

In a report made available this month, Juniper Research anticipates that in 2024, remote purchases for digital and physical goods will exceed 285 billion transactions per annum; an 80% increase on the figure for 2019.  And, that values will increase by nearly 60% to over $9 trillion. It’s impossible to look at these numbers without considering the impact of the massive migration to digital channels that businesses and their customers made to stay engaged during the early response to Covid-19. Finding ways to support customers and their needs remotely has been met with a lot of creative solutions and we see new trends taking hold. For example, “buy online and pick up in-store” and “buy now and pay later” provides customers the access they need for goods and services now with a lot of conveniences. Convenience is a significant part of the customer experience but unfortunately can expose a business to a lot of fraud. According to David Britton, “Fraudsters will always be at the forefront of technology exploitation.” There is evidence of this not only in technological innovation but in the manipulation of human behavior, otherwise known as social engineering. According to Juniper, new technologies such as artificial intelligence will take social engineering to unseen levels of success, like the rise we're seeing in fictitious or synthetic identities. But while it might seem like an impossible problem to manage, businesses have solutions available to them to prevent fraud, including using AI against cybercriminals. In fact, Experian believes that there the layered approach to fraud detection and prevention can significantly protect businesses, and their customers, throughout the credit lifecycle, and withstand the changing face of fraud. Check out the report on key trends and capabilities required for securing digital payments and find out more about Experian's solution on the Juniper Research Leaderboard. Related content: Protect your family from potential fraud when kids are playing video games Getting to grips with the shifting fraud landscape

Depending on location, social distancing has been in full effect for 8-9 weeks and it’s taken its toll on parents juggling work, school and keeping kids busy. Many parents have eased up on video gaming restrictions as way to let their kids and teens to connect with friends outside of remote learning classroom activities. According to Verizon, video game-related streaming was up 75% in the first week of quarantine and has experienced double-digit increases over typical day figures pre-Covid. Bloomberg reported that Italy’s largest telecommunications company, Telecom Italia, had a 70% increase in Internet traffic, due in large part to streaming video games. The uptick in video game usage means not only an increase in kids’ screen time but greater fraud risks as younger gamers are especially vulnerable to hackers. Anywhere there’s transferable value, there’s a high potential for fraud to occur. Many of the traditional fraud methods we’ve seen in other payment types also apply to video game accounts, such as stolen credentials to open new accounts or unauthorized purchases made using an existing account. Gaming fraud also has unique features like compromising another players’ account to use their resources, whether it’s virtual money, like v-bucks or star coins, or other rewards, like exclusive tools, skins, or power-ups. Unlike a bank or credit card lender, unraveling and finding the source of fraudulent behavior in video games is difficult.  That’s why it’s important to be aware of the security measures that video game companies offer, what indicators to look for if you think your account has been hacked, and what more you and your kids can do to protect payment information.  Many online video games use passwords, and in some cases two-factor authentication, to protect your kids’ gaming accounts. If you believe your account has been seriously compromised, there are ways to contact the software developer and remediation services are provided. But despite these security measures, there’s more that can be done. Most importantly, don’t share any personal information when talking to other players. Some gamers are also social engineers who try to gain information on the real people playing the games – whether it’s your real name, location and age or it’s details about your life, your dog’s name, where you moved from, or email address. What may seem like a harmless exchange of information could lead to a social engineering fraud attack where an account is opened using your kids (or their parents’) information to impersonate them. The information exchanged could also be sold for cash on the Dark Web, where personal information is collected and sold to career fraudsters. What businesses can do: Explore the use of behavioral biometrics to add another layer to simple password protectionsUnderstand the role device identity can play, like exposing which vulnerable accounts have been accessed by a known fraudster but where digital goods have not yet been movedReview your risk policies and consider a layered security approach that will level up or down based on the type of in-game transaction What kids can do: Talk about the game and strategy only and don’t give away any personal informationPut yourself on mute when talking to someone in the same physical room while playing games Don’t gift rewards or virtual money with anyone you don’t know in real-life What parents can do: Make sure you practice good password hygiene Turn on any additional security features offered, like two-factor authenticationScrutinize every transaction in your account history With the usage increase of tools to connect with people, there’s also a trend worth mentioning that doesn’t necessarily lead to financial loss but worth a word of warning: opportunistic disruption.  Put simply, some hackers are simply trying to get into your account because they can and occasionally flash up or post inappropriate images and messages or simply push irrelevant advertising (aka click fraud). This can be especially harmful to younger gamers. The good news is that game makers seem to be aware and acting against these sorts of behaviors with increased priority and use of advanced security technologies. This same disruption has been seen in conferencing services used for schools and businesses. Whether you grew up playing the original Nintendo games or are an avid gamer family now, gaming trends among kids and adults continue to grow despite being in the throws of self-isolation.  The answer isn’t to turn off the gaming system but rather be aware that online video games are also vulnerable to the fraud attacks often seen in other industries.   Related stories: Q&A: Biometrics as the catalyst for trust in a socially distant world Are traditional online identification methods becoming obsolete?

In many respects, the explosion in the type and volume of customer data businesses gather to facilitate security, ensure a convenient, user-friendly approach to customer interactions, and personalize interactions is a double-edged sword. In an era when businesses are awash in data, customers' expectations regarding its use continue to grow. Nonetheless, when it comes time to recognize a consumer by utilizing the data, there is a disconnect between how confident businesses are in their ability to recognize the consumer and the consumer's confidence in businesses' ability to do the same. In our latest Global Identity and Fraud Report, where input from over 6,500 consumers and 650 businesses worldwide was gathered, 95% of businesses expressed confidence in their ability to recognize their customers whereas only 55% of consumers reported that they don't feel recognized by businesses. So why do businesses feel they are recognizing their customers better than customers think they are? At the heart of the problem, many businesses fail to appreciate the risks and shortcomings associated with weak or no identity verification and customer authentication tools, including their inability to prevent criminal activity or offer seamless processes that minimize customer friction. And while businesses possess the means of gathering data from customers through a multitude of identity verification and authentication touchpoints, they sometimes struggle to develop an overarching picture of individual customers, in conjunction with their needs during each phase of the customer lifecycle. This, in turn, results in a myopic view of the customer, despite the existence of extensive data. A never-ending torrent of data Due to the rapid increases in the number of connected devices, there is exponential growth occurring in the amount of data generated, with some estimates predicting an excess of 79.5 zettabytes (or 79.5 billion terabytes) of generated data by 2025. With these facts in mind, many companies experience the shortcomings of big data solutions and their ability to make sense of the unprecedented growth in consumer data at the fingerprints. This inability to provide actionable insight means that what started as promising data lakes now resemble data swamps, meaning that companies possess unfathomable amounts of data but struggle with how to put it to good use. The security implications for business and consumers While businesses rush to embrace digitization by gathering all manner of data from customers at every stage of their journey, vast amounts of data continue to be exposed. Furthermore, as stated earlier, when it comes to customer engagement, there are expectations that businesses must meet regarding security, convenience, and personalization, yet many businesses struggle to understand the interrelationship between these three elements. In specific terms, as a customer interacts with a company, they provide additional data, with each interaction. This helps paint a more accurate picture of their identity and behaviors. In turn, this increasingly detailed, data-driven portrait improves an organization's ability to recognize them in subsequent interactions. Moreover, with a more detailed understanding of the customer, the need for burdensome security processes lessens, resulting in less friction for the customer. In a nutshell, security, convenience, and personalization form individual legs of the same stool. Consequently, failing to consider this fact, leads to isolated security measures, peppered throughout the customer lifecycle. For example, while browsing online, a customer may receive recommendations regarding the products or services they may like. However, when they access their account profile during the same session, the company may force them to reauthenticate their access. Using this example, since the company had sufficient data to personalize the customer's experience, in theory, at least, they also possessed sufficient information about the customer and their identity to grant unfettered access to their profile. Was there a genuine need to reauthenticate the customer in this scenario? At the heart of that interaction lies the customer's identity, which forms the basis for any interactions. When disparate systems capture various elements of a customer's digital identity, a mechanism must exist to aggregate the elements, to minimize the friction customers experience when interacting with businesses at different points in the lifecycle. And while relatively sophisticated CRM systems exist to memorialize customer preferences, due to their inability to capture a holistic view of the customer's identity and subsequent activity during all touchpoint in the customer lifecycle, they often fall short as in their ability to deliver a cohesive, consistent and appealing approach when it comes to security. The power of layers and analytics When fractured infrastructures are in place, businesses often subject their customers to a complicated and disjointed approach to security and risk requests, while simultaneously bombarding them with attempts to up-sell or cross-sell products and services. So, while the goal of data gathering and analysis should in part facilitate convenience, that is far from the customer experience when interacting with certain businesses. Conversely, when customer identity and recognition involves layers of data gathered from across business units, coupled with advanced analytics and quality identity verification tools, businesses can present a more compelling, user-friendly approach that minimizes the stress placed on the customer while providing a positive customer experience. With this approach in mind, businesses can do a great deal to foster engagement which is secure and trusted by the customer. Our research determined that 86 percent of businesses state that advanced analytics is a strategic priority. Yet only 67 percent of businesses consider the use of advanced analytics, like artificial intelligence, to be important for fraud prevention, whereas only 57 percent deem advanced analytics as important for identifying customers. Even fewer respondents see a reason to adopt a hybrid approach involving machine learning involving both unsupervised and supervised models with business rule logic – 45 percent globally and with the United States and Japan as the outliers at 58 percent. However, when businesses pursue the adoption of more sophisticated authentication strategies and advanced fraud detection tools, they will improve their ability to identify and their customers, reducing their exposure to risk and ultimately leading to increased trust. Trust is the linchpin for any transaction and while it's easy to underestimate the importance of trust, given how difficult it is to measure and maintain, without it consumers and businesses will part ways. In a world with no shortage of data, with the right tools and methodology in place, businesses can mitigate various forms of risk, refine the customer experience, and foster the trust needed to support a mutually beneficial relationship between businesses and the customers they serve.

The decisioning landscape is changing rapidly. In parallel to this, digital continues to redefine the customer experience with a big focus on removing friction from the customer journey. Mounting expectations around online customer experience mean that we are seeing a digital transformation both in terms of consumer interaction, and what the businesses are processing in the background. The front and back end are no longer mutually exclusive, and the driving force behind this transformation is digital, and it’s enabled by the cloud. How the pandemic has shifted priorities Before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, businesses were well on their way to recognizing this. Digitizing more workflows while incorporating a truly customer-centric view was the goal of 2020. A Gartner report shows that in January, priorities for CIOs centered around Cloud and DevOps. This push to shorten the development lifecycle by combining software development and IT operations into a single discipline, alongside demand for Robotic Process Automation, using bots to focus on automating high volume repetitive tasks, were top of the list for businesses. By April, these priorities had changed. Businesses quickly shifted their focus to the pandemic, and with that, the need to enable remote or home working. But Cloud remains firmly within the top three. We look at why cloud-first decisioning remains critical to digital transformation, now more than ever. Why Cloud-first is even more important now Managing cash flow: When a CIO is in the cost optimization mode and trying to conserve cash, scaling back on the use of existing Cloud technology can afford immediate cost savings. Cloud cost for infrastructure of the service, or platform of the service, and even some software of the service is often tied to the business. The less usage, the more savings. When a CIO needs to implement new technologies in 2020, Cloud can offer the most cash flow optimized needs to do so. Less cash is spent upfront to acquire Cloud technology than to buy data center systems or licensed software. Business agility: Cloud technology makes it much easier to keep systems up to date and secure, alongside feature enhancements and new releases. The Cloud minimizes lengthy and costly delivery projects with solutions that can be deployed in weeks, not months and years. Customer journey: Many established market leaders are running digital transformation programs that re-orientate their business away from functional and product silos to focus on customer journeys enabled by Cloud services. Keeping it simple: Simplification is crucial. Simplifying the IT environment with Cloud services that eliminate the need to manage hardware and other infrastructure. Using Cloud-native architecture to support auto-scaling, zero downtime for upgrade. Security is paramount: The challenge to identify and fight fraud by analyzing behavior during the data capture process is ever-present. Software needs to evolve all the time to adapt to threats, and it needs to continuously update with new features to help businesses remain competitive. Businesses need to protect consumer digital accounts from Account Takeover threats while balancing consumer convenience. Cloud-first impacts all layers, from consumer interactions to data sourcing and processing, from fraud detection to identity verification, and at the heart of areas like credit and decisioning. Integrated decisioning, and decisioning that is governed and can be clearly explained to both the auditor and to the regulator is the goal of every business, and it is enabled by the cloud.

I recently had the opportunity to talk to Christian Hubbs and Muhammed Shuaibi from Artificially Intelligent Podcast about the value AI and analytics generate for businesses. We reviewed how a growing number of businesses are seeing a lot of value added in terms of problem-solving when they bring in more sophisticated machine learning models and technology.  The conversation quickly pivoted towards how to determine the analytics and AI that better suit your business needs, as well as understanding what is required to operationalize those promising models. Think of performance, scalability, adoption and trust before embarking on your AI journey Ensuring that AI is right for your business requires a holistic approach, which is fundamentally based on four components:   AI Performance – selecting and framing problems, with a view to demonstrate that what you build outperform traditional methods.  AI Scalability - what starts as an experiment conducted by data scientists needs to be turned into a scalable system that truly impacts the business.   AI Adoption – ensuring that your AI and analytics are embraced and used by consumers and businesses and, ultimately, change the way they make decisions.  AI Trust – explaining decisions in a transparent way so the models and systems you build can be trusted, explainable and stand the test and scrutiny of regulators. Leveraging an outcome-based approach to solve COVID-19 related business challenges At Experian, we are applying this holistic approach to identify and address the most pressing concerns our clients are dealing within the context of COVID-19. The first is helping our clients understand what’s currently happening with different customer segments. We’re creating tools that bring together a series of early warnings and indicators and portraying how different customer segments are seeing various patterns in credit. We’re also identifying those most affected or needing concessions around lending, and understanding what banks are doing in terms of forbearance. Our priority is identifying these needs and quickly get the relevant AI and analytical solutions to our clients.  We are expecting to see a later urge in the industry to recalibrate existing models and to expand the type and volume of decisions they can make. Updating and monitoring them will be also a big area of focus over the next couple of years.  Listen to the podcast

Over the past couple of months, every business, regardless of industry, has had to quickly find its bearings. This level of disruption is unprecedented; we may never see anything of this magnitude again in our lifetime. While urgent, the immediate needs created in the wake of the global pandemic shouldn’t be met with one-and-done solutions. It’s imperative that the solutions you offer not only enable your customers to manage the immediate crisis but also help you support them as they assimilate into the “new normal.” There’s therefore this added pressure for businesses to equip their teams with the necessary tools and knowledge to continue serving customers in a dynamic environment. It doesn’t take long to get left behind with new solutions, and new challenges, emerging on a regular basis. You have to keep up with the times so you can adapt your response to whatever is necessary and retain your value to your customers. How do you upskill your teams when traditional training is not an option? As Plato put it well before the Covid-19 pandemic turned our world upside down, a need or problem encourages creative efforts to overcome the challenge it presents. Recent research shows that companies that may have deferred their intended investment in training, are now resuming that commitment in order to meet new demands in this increasingly digital ecosystem: In an ILX Group survey, 51 percent of HR decision-makers said that ongoing digital learning has a direct effect on boosting employee morale, satisfaction, and longevity. ​ A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that microlearning makes learning 17 percent more effective, and Software Advice reports that microlearning engages over 50 percent of participants. ​ A study conducted by Brandon Hall found that digital learning requires 40 to 60 percent less employee time than classroom training. ​ The Research Institute of America reports that learning retention rates improve from 8 to 10 percent for face-to-face training to 25 to 60 percent for digital learning. ​ IBM research found that for every dollar you invest in digital learning, the result is $30 in productivity, mostly because employees save a lot of time through online learning and are able to resume work and apply the new skills faster. ​ Taking advantage of technology to make knowledge accessible at the point of need As with the majority of our day-to-day activities, learning solutions now must be facilitated outside of a physical environment, such as the workplace or classroom. Having access to digital knowledge and training resources gives your teams enhanced flexibility to keep their skills up to date at their own pace, whether they are at home or in the office. Over the years, we’ve seen that offering learners training in multiple formats improves the overall success of the training, including enabling greater flexibility – offering different modalities is more likely to meet learner’s preferences - work clarity and job satisfaction. While your business may still be operating in a fog of uncertainty, ensuring access to the right tools and knowledge would give your team higher confidence in their ability to be of service, minimizing business disruption during this turbulent time.

“Password Incorrect"Are businesses making progress identifying customers online, or are they continuing to frustrate those customers with archaic identification and authentication methods? Businesses engaging with their customers online walk a precarious tightrope between offering a frictionless experience and securing user accounts against fraud. But with ever-evolving technology, we look at how businesses can get a grip on the changing world of fraud while offering a great customer experience. While easy digital experiences matter to end-users, especially now that any physical customer interaction is temporarily on hold, make no mistake about it: security is the most important factor when it comes to building trust with your customers. In fact, our annual Global Identity & Fraud report, published in February 2020, found that 74% of consumers consider security the most important factor related to their willingness to conduct business online. Moreover, ease of access to their accounts was a close second, with 72% of respondents saying they want less friction and more user-friendly solutions. But keeping track of multiple, complex passwords across hundreds of digital accounts and running a gauntlet of authentication hurdles is the antithesis of what customers want. The Evolution of Identification Businesses that are truly committed to providing customers with a secure and frictionless experience online are moving beyond traditional fraud mitigation methods when it comes to customer identity. They're adding multiple intelligent layers, many of which are completely invisible to end users, to add security and enable the fast, easy access customers expect. Traditional analogue measures, like signature cards and face-to-face interactions with customers by a bank employee, are nearly extinct. Now, like those dinosaurs of the pre-internet world, many digital fraud protection measures are also being rendered obsolete because they just aren't robust enough to confidently identify customers. But technology can help businesses address this disparity. More sophisticated strategies, such as the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence, can provide faster and more accurate authentication – while being less intrusive user experiences. Technology for Trust Thanks in large part to the rapid growth of smartphones and mobile devices, we've seen more sophisticated methods of authentication. One of the most common forms of two-factor authentication today are the nearly ubiquitous one-time passcodes that are sent by email or text. This second layer of authentication ensures that the user is in possession of the hardware being used for access and has access to a confirmed email account or mobile device. A downside of using these codes for verification, however, is that the user has to access email or messaging, which adds friction to the process, and is still not (on its own) immune to fraudsters. There is no one-size-fits-all solution The white knight of trust is a dynamic approach to both identity verification and authentication. To accomplish this, businesses need to layer solutions that provide insight into devices and behaviors on top of traditional two-factor options. Then apply advanced analytics to stop fraud while allowing 99% of customers to breeze through sign-up and ongoing account access. Many of the latest identity authentication controls are 'passive', so customers won't even notice that they are happening, making the customer experience both secure and smooth. Passive authentication can include behavioral risk assessments that compare the device against historical activities from the customer as well as evaluate how the customer is inputting information or navigating the page. This, paired with other measures such as enrolling customers' biometrics and using them for ongoing account accesses, can help ensure a seamless online experience. Looking for the right signals across data sources can quickly flag risk and move the customer through the digital enrolment or login without unnecessary friction. Related articles: Covid-19 as a Gateway to Fraud: Top 5 Global Fraud Trends to Watch Out for in 2020

There isn’t a roadmap for navigating through times like these but the reality can’t be ignored. The effects of the pandemic will forever change how lending businesses operate and engage with customers long after the health crisis is over. Businesses and consumers have basically been pushed to engage with each other digitally en masse and there are practical challenges that banks and financial services are faced with today that need to be addressed. Some of these issues require short-term adjustments to manage things like increased volume of call center inquiries with a remote workforce. But other issues have put a spotlight on massive areas in need of modernization such as the management of liquidity and risk. Businesses need to think critically about how they will use technology and innovation to transform their credit risk and fraud operations to better serve customers across channels. Here are three cost-effective strategies that will connect you with your customers faster and in their greatest time of need – now and post-Covid. Respond to the change in a fair and consistent way. Regulatory bodies and credit risk policies are designed to prevent against unfair lending decisions. But when federal funding to provide stimulus and pressure for payment holidays take hold, it’s creating a lot of uncertainty for how to handle its impact on the portfolio. Strong operational decision management capabilities provide businesses a way to quickly test new strategies and deploy them. In fact, this isn’t all that new to large banks and financial institutions. But smaller banks have considered it “out-of-reach”, a perception that isn’t true nor acceptable at time when there are solutions available on the cloud. A huge benefit to moving your strategy management to the cloud is the ability to flex up or flex down your costs at time when balancing your cash flow and discretionary spend or technology investments is a top priority. Flexing up for increased customer demand to handle hardship or government-backed small business loans is going to be fundamental during this crisis, and where cloud-based strategy management will really pay off. A further benefit is that you remove the complexity of the IT infrastructure and get access to enhanced features whether it’s new data sources, models, or improvements to security. This is especially important as we all know, necessity is the mother of all innovation and there will be a need to get more from your current software without wanting to replace legacy systems. Models that drive decisioning still work. Despite the lack of historical precedent for the current scenario, data and analytics are very effective in this rapidly changing environment. For example, many people are facing financial hardship right now which means businesses need a way to efficiently receive and process applications that out-sort those in need of special servicing. Understanding who was headed into default prior to Covid-19 and who is experiencing short-term default because of this situational unemployment is key for delivering the right products and terms. In fact, if there is anything transferrable from the 2007/08 recession (which was entirely different from what the world is experiencing now), is that you need to use analytics to discern habits from new behaviors and ensure you don’t use vanilla treatments for both. Businesses will undoubtedly see their analytics teams overstretched during this period, so now is the time to reduce the manual load and invest in machine learning and AI. These advanced tools can offer the fastest and best results for getting the right analytical capabilities or models in place. For larger organizations, this will mean having the agility to rapidly update and deploy existing models, and for smaller ones, it will mean building this from the ground up. To help, our data scientists have recently identified over 140 consumer credit attributes that can offer some insights even in unprecedented times to: Identify financially stressed customers earlierPredict future payment behavior accuratelyRespond to profile changes faster Re-define the customer journey. Businesses should remove all unnecessary friction by inspecting the customer journey right down to every click and interaction. Why is this important? It remains to be seen exactly what customer behaviors and expectations will take hold but it’s likely to leave a lasting imprint. The contactless way consumers engage with businesses puts more and more pressure on how effectively they’re using data and customer insights to make their interaction relevant. Relevance in the form of – Do I recognize that this is my customer enrolling in or accessing their account(s) or is it suspicious?What do I know about this customer to proactively adjust or deliver a contextually appropriate offer or the terms they will accept?Are there signs of “mental drop-out” or abandonment that signal improvements to the experience are needed?How can I deliver the same experience across channels and simplify complex transactions, like enrollment?Do my customers feel secure and do they trust my business to protect their information? This is an opportunity for organizations to reflect upon how they do business, both in terms of how effectively they operate, but also in light of consumers changing expectations about the way that they want to engage with the wider community. Beyond the data, having an appropriate and empathetic response to customers who feel stuck can increase rapport, build loyalty, and open new possibilities to work together in the future. Related articles: Digitally managing your at-risk customers most impacted by Covid-19Proactively restructuring debt to help improve customer affordabilityPredicting customer payment behavior in a time of extreme uncertaintyStay connected to your customers in times of unexpected change