All posts by Theresa Nguyen

Putting customers at the center of your credit marketing strategy is key to achieving higher response rates and building long-term relationships. To do this, financial institutions need fresh and accurate consumer data to inform their decisions. Atlas Credit was looking to achieve higher response rates on its credit marketing campaigns by engaging consumers with timely and personalized offers. The company implemented Experian’s Ascend Marketing, a customer marketing and acquisition engine that provides marketers with accurate and comprehensive consumer credit data to build and deploy intelligent marketing campaigns. With deeper insights into their consumers, Atlas Credit created timely and customized credit offers, resulting in a 185% increase in loan originations within the first year of implementation. Additionally, the company was able to effectively manage and monitor its targeting strategies in one place, leading to improved operational efficiency and lower acquisition costs. To learn more about creating better-targeted marketing campaigns and enhancing your strategies, read the full case study. Download the case study Learn more

For a credit prescreen marketing campaign to be successful, financial institutions must first define their target audience. But just because you’ve identified your ideal customers, it doesn’t mean that every individual within that group has the same needs, interests or behaviors. As such, you’ll need to use data-driven customer segmentation to create messages and offers that truly resonate. Customer segmentation example Customer segmentation is the practice of dividing your target audience into smaller sub-groups based on shared characteristics, behaviors or preferences. This allows you to develop highly targeted marketing campaigns and engage with individual groups in more relevant and meaningful ways. What role does data play in customer segmentation? When it comes to segmenting customers, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach that works perfectly for all campaigns and markets. However, regardless of the campaign, you’ll need accurate and relevant data to inform your segmenting strategy. Let’s walk through a customer segmentation example. Say you want to launch a credit marketing campaign that targets creditworthy consumers in the market for a new mortgage. Some of the most influential data points to consider when segmenting include: Demographics Demographic data allows you to get to know your customers as individuals in terms of age, gender, education, occupation and marital status. If you want to create a segment that consists of only middle-aged consumers, leveraging demographic data makes it easier to identify these individuals, refine your messaging and predict their future buying behaviors. Life stage Life event data, such as new parents and new homeowners, helps you connect with consumers who have experienced a major life event. Because you’re targeting consumers in the market for a new mortgage, using fresh and accurate life stage data can help you create an engaging, event-based marketing campaign relevant to their timeline. Financial Financial data segments go beyond income and estimate the way consumers spend their money. With deeper insights into customers’ financial behaviors, you can more accurately assess creditworthiness and make smarter lending decisions. Transactional Transactional data segments group your customers according to their unique buying habits. By getting to know why they purchase your products or their frequency of spend, you can gain a better understanding of who your most engaged customers are, segment further and find opportunities for cross-sell and upsell. Why is data-driven customer segmentation critical for your business? With data-driven customer segmentation, you can develop relevant marketing campaigns and messages that speak to specific audiences, enabling you to demonstrate your value propositions more clearly and deliver personalized customer experiences. Additionally, because customer segmentation enables you to tailor your marketing efforts to those most likely to respond, you can achieve higher conversions while cutting down on marketing spend and resources. Ready to get started? While data-driven customer segmentation may seem overwhelming, Experian can help fill your marketing gaps with custom-based data, audiences and solutions. Armed with a better understanding of your consumers’ patterns and journeys, you can start targeting them more effectively. Create highly targeted credit marketing campaigns

With an abundance of loan options in today’s market, retaining customers can be challenging for banks and credit unions, especially small or regional institutions. And as more consumers look for personalization and digital tools in their banking experience, the likelihood of switching to institutions that can meet these demands is increasing.1 According to a recent Experian survey, 78% of consumers have conducted personal banking activities online in the last three months. However, 58% of consumers don’t feel that businesses completely meet their expectations for a digital online experience. To remain competitive in today's market, organizations must enhance their prescreen efforts by accelerating their digital transformation. Prescreen in today's economic environment While establishing a strong digital strategy is crucial to meeting the demands of today’s consumers, economic conditions are continuing to change, causing many financial institutions to either tighten their marketing budgets or hold off on their prescreen efforts completely. Fortunately, lenders can still drive growth during a changing economy without having to make huge cuts to their marketing budgets. How? The answer lies in digital prescreen. Case study: Uncover hidden growth opportunities Wanting to grow their business and existing relationships, Clear Mountain Bank looked for a solution that could help them engage customers with money-saving product offers while delivering a best-in-class digital banking experience. Leveraging Digital Prescreen with Micronotes, the bank was able to identify and present dollarized savings to customers who held higher-priced loans with other lenders. What’s more, the bank extended these offers through personalized conversations within their online and mobile banking platforms, resulting in improved digital engagement and increased customer satisfaction. By delivering competitive prescreen offers digitally, Clear Mountain Bank generated more than $1 million in incremental loans and provided customers with an average of $1,615 in cost savings within the first two months of deployment. “Digital Prescreen with Micronotes supplied the infrastructure to create higher-quality, personalized offers, as well as the delivery and reporting. They made prescreen marketing a reality for us.” – Robert Flockvich, Director of Community Outreach and Retail Lending at Clear Mountain Bank To learn more about how you can grow your portfolio and customer relationships, read the full case study or visit us. Download the case study Visit us 1The Keys to Solving Banking’s Customer Loyalty & Retention Problems, The Financial Brand, 2022.

Today’s changing economy is directly impacting consumers’ financial behaviors, with some individuals doing well and some showing signs of payment stress. And while these trends may pose challenges to financial institutions, such as how to expand their customer base without taking on additional risk, the right credit attributes can help them drive smarter and more profitable lending decisions. With Experian’s industry-leading credit attributes, organizations can develop precise and explainable acquisition models and strategies. As a result, they can: Expand into new segments: By gaining deeper insights into consumer trends and behaviors, organizations can better assess an individual’s creditworthiness and approve populations who might have been overlooked due to limited or no credit history. Improve the customer experience: Having a wider view of consumer credit behavior and patterns allows organizations to apply the best treatment at the right time based on each consumer’s specific needs. Save time and resources: With an ongoing managed set of base attributes, organizations don’t have to invest significant resources to develop the attributes themselves. Additionally, existing attributes are regularly updated and new attributes are added to keep pace with industry and regulatory changes. Case study: Enhance decision-making and segmentation strategies A large retail credit card issuer was looking to grow their portfolio by identifying and engaging more consumers who met their credit criteria. To do this, they needed to replace their existing custom acquisition model with one that provided a granular view of consumer behavior. By partnering with Experian, the company was able to implement an advanced custom acquisition model powered by our proprietary Trended 3DTM and Premier AttributesSM. Trended 3D analyzes consumers’ behavior patterns over time, while Premier Attributes aggregates and summarizes findings from credit report data, enabling the company to make faster and more strategic lending decisions. Validations of the new model showed up to 10 percent improvement in performance across all segments, helping the company design more effective segmentation strategies, lower their risk exposure and approve more accounts. To learn how Experian can help your organization make the best data-driven decisions, read the full case study or visit us. Download case study Visit us

With consumers having more credit options than ever before, it’s imperative for lenders to get their message in front of ideal customers at the right time and place. But without clear insights into their interests, credit behaviors or financial capacity, you may risk extending preapproved credit offers to individuals who are unqualified or have already committed to another lender. To increase response rates and reduce wasted marketing spend, you must develop an effective customer targeting strategy. What makes an effective customer targeting strategy? A customer targeting strategy is only as good as the data that informs it. To create a strategy that’s truly effective, you’ll need data that’s relevant, regularly updated, and comprehensive. Alternative data and credit-based attributes allow you to identify financially stressed consumers by providing insight into their ability to pay, whether their debt or spending has increased, and their propensity to transfer balances and consolidate loans. With a more granular view of consumers’ credit behaviors over time, you can avoid high-risk accounts and focus only on targeting individuals that meet your credit criteria. While leveraging additional data sources can help you better identify creditworthy consumers, how can you improve the chances of them converting? At the end of the day, it’s also the consumer that’s making the decision to engage, and if you aren’t sending the right offer at the precise moment of interest, you may lose high-value prospects to competitors who will. To effectively target consumers who are most likely to respond to your credit offers, you must take a customer-centric approach by learning about where they’ve been, what their goals are, and how to best cater to their needs and interests. Some types of data that can help make your targeting strategy more customer-centric include: Demographic data like age, gender, occupation and marital status, give you an idea of who your customers are as individuals, allowing you to enhance your segmentation strategies. Lifestyle and interest data allow you to create more personalized credit offers by providing insight into your consumers’ hobbies and pastimes. Life event data, such as new homeowners or new parents, helps you connect with consumers who have experienced a major life event and may be receptive to event-based marketing campaigns during these milestones. Channel preference data enables you to reach consumers with the right message at the right time on their preferred channel. Target high-potential, high-value prospects By using an effective customer targeting strategy, you can identify and engage creditworthy consumers with the greatest propensity to accept your credit offer. To see if your current strategy has what it takes and what Experian can do to help, view this interactive checklist or visit us today. Review your customer targeting strategy Visit us

Whether your goal is to gain new business or create cross-sell opportunities, being proactive in your credit marketing approach can help drive higher response rates and more meaningful customer experiences. But without knowing when your ideal customers are actively seeking credit, you may risk losing business to lenders who have already engaged. So, how can you identify new opportunities when they occur? Given that 91% of consumers say they’re more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers, you’ll need to reach the right consumers at the right moment to increase response rates and stay ahead of competitors. Event-based credit triggers can help you identify new tradelines, inquiries and certain loans nearing term to locate highly responsive, credit-active individuals. By receiving updates on consumers’ recent credit activities, you can make firm credit offers immediately so you never miss an opportunity. Case Study: Deliver timely offers with credit trigger leads Vantage West Credit Union serves over 170,000 members across Arizona. With their members looking elsewhere for their mortgage needs, Vantage West aimed to drive as many of these members back to the credit union as possible. To do this, they looked for a solution that could help them identify and target members who are in the market for a new mortgage. By augmenting their prescreen process with Experian’s Prospect Triggers for mortgages, the credit union was able to quickly pinpoint consumers that not only met their credit criteria but were also likely to respond to their credit offers. Within two years of implementing Prospect Triggers, Vantage West funded an additional $18 million in mortgages and is continuing to grow by making timely offers to credit-active prospects. Prospect Triggers is available for banks, credit card issuers, mortgage lenders, retailers and automotive lenders. To learn how Experian can help bring precision and profitability to your credit marketing campaigns, read the full case study or visit us. Download the case study Visit us

Rapid improvements in technology and the rise in online activity are driving higher consumer expectations for fast and frictionless digital experiences. And yet, only 50% of credit unions are executing on a digital strategy compared to 79% of banks.1 What can credit unions do to stand out from the competition and keep up with increasing consumer demands? 23% of consumers say their expectations for the digital experience have only somewhat or not at all been met.2 The answer lies in digital prequalification. With a frictionless digital prequalification solution, members can prequalify themselves online in real time before starting the formal application process. This puts members in the driver’s seat, allowing them to see their eligibility for credit offers and choose whether they’d like to proceed with the application. By delivering immediate feedback and offers to members online, credit unions can increase response rates, improve digital engagement and enhance the prequalification experience. Case Study: Achieving growth through a seamless digital prequalification experience Gather Federal Credit Union is the largest neighbor-island credit union in Hawaii, providing financial products and services to more than 35,000 members. Wanting to grow more loans while providing members with a seamless and efficient online experience, the credit union looked for a comprehensive solution that could improve their decisioning and enhance their prequalification strategy. They partnered with Experian and Rate Reset to implement a frictionless digital experience that enables members to opt-in for prequalified offers. Leveraging the power of Experian’s PowerCurve® and Rate Reset’s The ButtonTM, Gather had flexible access to consumer data, attributes and scores, allowing them to verify user identities and match members with loan products before their application formally went through the credit underwriting process. By gaining a better understanding of which credit options they prequalified for, members were able to opt-in instantly, creating a faster, more personalized digital prequalification experience. Within three weeks of implementation, Gather booked over $600,000 in new personal loans and credit cards. Additionally, of all the applicants that passed the credit union’s credit prequalification criteria, 54% accepted their offer and received a loan. “With a few clicks, members and non-members alike can instantly prequalify themselves for a loan. We’re extremely pleased with this offering, which has enabled us to extend our reach and grow the Gather community,” said Justin Ganaden, Executive Vice President, Gather Federal Credit Union. Read the full case study to learn more about how Experian can help grow your business with a frictionless digital prequalification experience. Download the full case study 1 https://www.big-fintech.com/Media/BIG-News/ArticleID/779/New-Digital-Banking-Platform Digital Transformation Revolution – Is it Leaving Credit Unions Behind? 2 2022 Global Insights Report, Experian, 2022.

From desktops and laptops to smartphones and tablets, consumers leverage multiple devices when engaging with businesses. For financial institutions, it’s important to identify and track consumers across devices to deliver personalized offers and increase opportunities for conversion. The problem with cookies Marketers have traditionally used cookies to determine what their audience’s interests are based on their browsing activity and past purchases. An example of this is when a user browses a product on a website and then leaves without buying. Later that day, they see an ad on social media featuring the same product they viewed earlier. While this may seem like an effective way for financial institutions to target or prescreen consumers, cookies are very limited — they can’t capture or connect a user’s behavior across multiple touchpoints. In other words, if a consumer were to browse a website on their mobile phone and then switch to their laptop, the business would view these sessions as two different visits from two different people, resulting in inconsistent messaging and a disjointed user experience. This is a huge problem because devices don’t decide to convert — people do. To reach the right consumers with the right message wherever they may be, financial institutions must look beyond cookies. This is where people-based marketing comes in. What is people-based marketing? People-based marketing takes a more personal marketing approach. Rather than targeting devices, people-based marketing connects businesses with real people, helping them understand who their customers are, what they’re looking for and how to engage them in more meaningful ways. It does this by gathering customer data from both online and offline sources to create a single customer profile. Let’s look at an example of people-based marketing by revisiting the scenario above. A user is browsing a company’s website on their mobile phone and decides to switch to their laptop. By capturing a single view of the user with a people-based marketing solution, the brand can recognize them and resume their experience on the new device. What’s more, the brand understands the user’s intent at that stage of their customer journey and leverages real-time data to make relevant offers and recommendations, helping further personalize their experience. Benefits of a people-based marketing approach To create better-targeted credit marketing campaigns, financial institutions must ensure they have the right data and technologies in place. Experian’s industry-leading database technology provides the freshest, most comprehensive consumer credit data to help organizations optimize their lending criteria and marketing campaigns. With Experian’s people-based marketing solutions, financial institutions can: Reach the right people: Leveraging fresh consumer data allows financial institutions to target the best prospects for their business needs and avoid making preapproved offers to nonqualified consumers. Deliver personalized credit offers: By gaining a more complete view of consumers, financial institutions can ensure they’re sending relevant offers to users where and when they’re most motivated to respond. Enhance their retargeting efforts: If a user isn’t ready to convert upon their first interaction, organizations can reach them on another device to reinforce their messaging in more personalized ways. Provide frictionless, omnichannel experiences: Seamless identity resolution allows organizations to accurately recognize consumers across devices, leading to more precise targeting and cohesive customer experiences. Reduce marketing spend: By focusing on the right audience with the right message, organizations can avoid unlikely prospects and reduce wasted marketing spend, all while increasing response rates. Expand their reach: With rich insights into their clients’ interests, demographics and behaviors, financial institutions can target prospects who share similar characteristics and are likely to convert. Leveraging an effective people-based marketing strategy is crucial to delivering personalized and consistent customer experiences in today’s multi-device world. To learn more about how Experian can help, visit us today. Learn about our people-based marketing solutions

To drive profitable growth and customer retention in today’s highly competitive landscape, businesses must create long-term value for consumers, starting with their initial engagement. A successful onboarding experience would encourage 46% of consumers1 to increase their investments in a product or service. While many organizations have embraced digital transformation to meet evolving consumer demands, a truly exceptional onboarding experience requires a flexible, data-driven solution that ensures each step of customer acquisition in financial services is as quick, seamless, and cohesive as possible. Otherwise, financial institutions may risk losing potential customers to competitors that can offer a better experience. Here are some of the benefits of implementing a flexible, data-driven decisioning platform: Greater efficiency From processing a consumer’s application to verifying their identity, lenders have historically completed these tasks manually, which can add days, if not weeks, to the onboarding process. Not only does this negatively impact the customer experience, but it also takes resources away from other meaningful work. An agile decisioning platform can automate these tedious tasks and accelerate the customer onboarding process, leading to increased efficiency, improved productivity, and lower acquisition costs2. Reduced fraud and risk Onboarding customers quickly is just as important as ensuring fraudsters are stopped early in the process, especially with the rise of cybercrime. However, only 23% of consumers are very confident that companies are taking steps to secure them online. With a layered digital identity verification solution, financial institutions can validate and verify an applicant’s personal information in real time to identify legitimate customers, mitigate fraud, and pursue growth confidently. Increased acceptance rates Today’s consumers demand instant responses and easy experiences when engaging with businesses, and their expectations around onboarding are no different. Traditional processes that take longer and require heavy documentation, greater amounts of information, and continuous back and forth between parties often result in significant customer dropout. In fact, 40% of digital banking consumers3 abandon opening an account online due to lengthy applications. With a flexible solution powered by real-time data and cutting-edge technology, financial institutions can reduce this friction and drive credit decisions faster, leading to more approvals, improved profitability, and higher customer satisfaction. Having a proper customer onboarding strategy in place is crucial to achieving higher acceptance and retention rates. To learn about how Experian can help you optimize your customer acquisition strategy, visit us and be sure to check out our latest infographic. View infographic Visit us 1 The Manifest, Customer Onboarding Strategy: A Guide to Retain Customers, April 2021. 2 Deloitte, Inside magazine issue 16, 2017. 3 The Financial Brand, How Banks Can Increase Their New Loan Business 100%, 2021.

From awarding bonus points on food delivery purchases to incorporating social media into their marketing efforts, credit card issuers have leveled up their acquisition strategies to attract and resonate with today’s consumers. But as appealing as these rewards may seem, many consumers are choosing not to own a credit card because of their inability to qualify for one. As card issuers go head-to-head in the battle to reach and connect with new consumers, they must implement more inclusive lending strategies to not only extend credit to underserved communities, but also grow their customer base. Here’s how card issuers can stay ahead: Reach: Look beyond the traditional credit scoring system With limited or no credit history, credit invisibles are often overlooked by lenders who rely solely on traditional credit information to determine applicants’ creditworthiness. This makes it difficult for credit invisibles to obtain financial products and services such as a credit card. However, not all credit invisibles are high-risk consumers and not every activity that could demonstrate their financial stability is captured by traditional data and scores. To better evaluate an applicant’s creditworthiness, lenders can leverage expanded data sources, such as an individual’s cash flow or bank account activity, as an additional lens into their financial health. With deeper insights into consumers’ banking behaviors, card issuers can more accurately assess their ability to pay and help historically disadvantaged populations increase their chances of approval. Not only will this empower underserved consumers to achieve their financial goals, but it provides card issuers with an opportunity to expand their customer base and improve profitability. Connect: Become a financial educator and advocate Credit card issuers looking to build lifelong relationships with new-to-credit consumers can do so by becoming their financial educator and mentor. Many new-to-credit consumers, such as Generation Z, are anxious about their finances but are interested in becoming financially literate. To help increase their credit understanding, card issuers can provide consumers with credit education tools and resources, such as infographics or ‘how-to’ guides, in their marketing campaigns. By learning about the basics and importance of credit, including what a credit score is and how to improve it, consumers can make smarter financial decisions, boost their creditworthiness, and stay loyal to the brand as they navigate their financial journeys. Accessing credit is a huge obstacle for consumers with limited or no credit history, but it doesn’t have to be. By leveraging expanded data sources and offering credit education to consumers, credit card issuers can approve more creditworthy applicants and unlock barriers to financial well-being. Visit us to learn about how Experian is helping businesses grow their portfolios and drive financial inclusion. Visit us

Many financial institutions have made inclusion a strategic priority to expand their reach and help more U.S. consumers access affordable financial services. To drive deeper understanding, Experian commissioned Forrester to do new research to identify key focal points for firms and how they are moving the needle. The study found that more than two-thirds of institutions had a strategy created and implemented while one-quarter reported they are already up and running with their inclusion plans.1 Tapping into the underserved The research examines the importance of engaging new audiences such as those that are new to credit, lower-income, thin file, unbanked and underbanked as well as small businesses. To tap into these areas, the study outlines the need to develop new products and services, adopt willingness to change policies and processes, and use more data to drive better decisions and reach.2 Expanded data for improved risk decisioning The research underlines the use of alternative data and emerging technologies to expand reach to new audiences and assist many who have been underserved. In fact, sixty-two percent of financial institutions surveyed reported they currently use or are planning to use expanded data to improve risk profiling and credit decisions, with focus on: Banking data Cash flow data Employment verification data Asset, investments, and wealth management data Alternative financial services data Telcom and utility data3 Join us to learn more at our free webinar “Reaching New Heights Together with Financial Inclusion” where detailed research and related tools will be shared featuring Forrester’s principal analyst on Tuesday, May 24 from 10 – 11 a.m. PT. Register here for more information. Find more financial inclusion resources at www.experian.com/inclusionforward. Register for webinar Visit us 1 Based on Forrester research 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.

The Marketing Rule of Seven means it usually takes at least seven impressions before a consumer is compelled to act. When extending firm offers of credit to consumers, lenders have long relied on direct mail and more recently email to reach their intended audiences. But what if there are more ways to deliver a credit offer? Let’s explore how digital display retargeting can help you maximize your campaign performance and profitability. What is digital display retargeting? Digital display retargeting allows lenders to present a firm offer of credit on digital and mobile to complement a direct mail or email prescreen campaign. This solution takes credit marketing to a whole new level — instead of relying solely on direct mail or email, lenders can amplify firm offers of credit on channels like social media or authenticated websites to maximize their reach. With spending more time on these channels, digital display retargeting can provide them  with an additional opportunity to respond. Reaching the right consumers with the right offer While echoing the same credit offer on multiple channels can help elicit higher response rates, how do lenders decide to which consumer to extend that offer to? Experian’s credit database provides lenders with fresh consumer information to help them determine what kind of credit offers may be most appealing to each unique individual. Through Amplified Prospecting, lenders can then gain accurate consumer identification and matching in digital display channels to ensure offers are reaching consumers most likely to respond. Maximize your campaign reach With the combined strengths of Experian’s consumer credit data and Amplified Prospecting, lenders can extend firm offers of credit to prescreened consumers across multiple touchpoints, helping them to achieve greater visibility and higher response rates. To learn more about how Experian can help you level up your credit marketing campaigns, visit us today. Learn more

Rewards are among the most appealing features of any credit card. While upfront benefits, like sign-up bonuses and cashback, are most influential in card acquisition, ancillary benefits, like fraud and identity protection, can amplify a card’s overall value.1 Credit card fraud ranked as the second most common form of identity theft in 2021,2 and is expected to become even more frequent as consumers continue to bank and shop online.3 42% of consumers are concerned for the safety of their banking and shopping transactions. With digital identity theft and fraud on the rise, it’s no surprise that safety measures are “very” or “extremely” important to consumers when deciding between different credit cards.4 In response, many card issuers have started to market their security and protection-related benefits more frequently to better capitalize on their cards’ value to consumers. The ways they’ve highlighted these benefits include: A fraud protection campaign From spotlighting their fraud protection benefits in card welcome kits to providing privacy tips on social media, credit card issuers have crafted compelling campaigns to demonstrate their commitment to protecting their customers from fraud and identity theft. In turn, issuers can differentiate their cards from the competition and improve response rates. Reminders about their fraud prevention efforts Issuers have also sent out ongoing reminders outlining the protections their credit cards offer, such as credit monitoring services 5 that notify cardholders of suspicious activity on their credit report. By consistently promoting their efforts to keep their customers’ accounts and data safe, issuers can earn their cardholders’ trust, build loyalty and drive card usage. While benefits like cashback and travel points can help with card acquisition, fraud and identity protection benefits can help drive long-term customer relationships, especially now that card fraud is becoming a growing concern.6 To learn more about how businesses have worked to meet the consumer demand for secure interactions, check out our 2021 Global Identity and Fraud Report. Learn more 1Jonathan O'Connor. "Most Consumers Aren't Aware of Their Credit Cards' Ancillary Benefits. How Does This Impact Card Acquisition and Usage?" TSYS, January 2019 2FTC. "Consumer Sentinel Network" Data Book, 2021 3April Berthene. "Coronavirus pandemic adds $219 billion to US ecommerce sales in 2020-2021" Digital Commerce 360, March 2022 4"Consumers Consider as Many as Six Factors When Choosing Credit Card" PYMTS.com, December 2021 5David McMillin. "Identity theft is a major problem, but these 5 credit card protection programs can help keep you safe" Business Insider, June 2021 6"New FICO Survey Finds Overconfidence Could Put US Consumers at Risk From Scams" Business Wire, February 2022

Millions of consumers are excluded from the credit economy, whether it’s because they have limited credit history, dated information within their credit file, or are a part of a historically disadvantaged group. Without credit, it can be difficult for consumers to access the tools and services they need to achieve their financial goals. This February, Experian surveyed over 1,000 consumers across census demographics, including income, ethnicity, and age, to understand the perceptions, needs, and barriers underserved communities face along their credit journey. Our research found that: 75% of consumers with an average household income of less than $50,000 have less than $1,000 in savings. 1 in 5 consumers with an average household income of less than $35,000 say they’re confident in getting approved for credit. 80% of respondents who are not or slightly confident in getting approved for credit were women. When asked why they believed they would not get approved for credit, participants shared common responses, such as having poor payment history, a low credit score, and insufficient income. Given these findings, what can lenders provide to help underserved consumers strengthen their financial profiles and gain access to the credit they need and deserve? The power of credit education While only 20% of respondents were familiar with credit education tools, the majority expressed interest in these offerings. With Experian, lenders can develop and implement credit education programs, tools, and solutions to help consumers understand their credit and the impact certain choices can have on their credit scores. From interactive tools like Score Simulator and Score Planner to real-time alerts from Credit Monitoring, consumers can actively assess their financial health, take steps to improve their creditworthiness, and ultimately become better candidates for credit offers. In turn, consumers can feel more confident and empowered to achieve their financial goals. Credit education tools not only help consumers increase their credit literacy, confidence, and chances of approval, but they also create opportunities for lenders to build lasting customer relationships.  Consumers recognize that healthy credit plays an important role in their financial lives, and by helping them navigate the credit landscape, lenders can increase engagement, build loyalty, and enhance their brand’s reputation as an organization that cares about their customers. Empowering consumers with credit education is also a way for lenders to unlock new revenue streams. By learning to borrow, save, and spend responsibly, consumers can improve their creditworthiness and be in a better position to accept extended credit offerings, driving more cross-sell and upsell opportunities for lenders. More ways experian can help Experian is deeply committed to helping marginalized and low-income communities access the financial resources they need. In addition to our credit education tools, here are a few of our other offerings: Our expanded data helps lenders make better lending decisions by providing greater visibility and transparency around a consumer’s inquiry and payment behaviors. With a holistic view of their current and prospective customers, lenders can more accurately identify creditworthy applicants, uncover new growth opportunities, and expand access to credit for underserved consumers. Experian GoTM is a free, first-of-its-kind program to help credit invisibles and those with limited credit histories begin building credit on their own terms. After authenticating their identities and obtaining an Experian credit report, users will receive ongoing education about how credit works and recommendations to further build their credit history. To learn more about building profitable customer relationships with credit education, check out our credit education solutions and watch our Three Ways to Uncover Financial Growth Opportunities that Benefit Underserved Communities webinar. Learn more Watch webinar

As more consumers apply for credit and increase their spending1, lenders and financial institutions have an opportunity to expand their portfolios and improve profitability. The challenge is ensuring they’re extending credit responsibly and inclusively. Millions of Americans, many of whom are creditworthy, lack access to mainstream credit options. This may be because they have limited or no credit history, negative information within their credit file, or are a part of a historically disadvantaged group. To say “yes” to consumers they otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t lend to, lenders must gain a deeper understanding of an individual’s stability, ability and willingness to pay. That’s where expanded FCRA-regulated and trended data come in. While traditional credit data has long been the primary means of gauging creditworthiness, it doesn’t tell the full story of a consumer’s financial situation. Let’s explore how differentiated data can help lenders make more informed credit decisions. Using differentiated data for deeper lending Expanded FCRA-regulated data provides supplemental credit data to help lenders gain a more holistic view of their current and prospective customers. Some examples of expanded FCRA-regulated data include alternative financial services data from nontraditional lenders, consumer-permissioned account data, rental payments and full-file public records. Because this data drives greater visibility and transparency around inquiry and payment behaviors, lenders can more accurately determine a consumer’s ability to pay and distinguish between reliable and high-risk applicants. In turn, lenders can approve more creditworthy consumers, grow their portfolios and increase financial opportunities for underserved communities, all while preventing and mitigating risk. 89% of lenders agree that expanded FCRA-regulated data allows them to extend credit to more consumers. Trended data empowers lenders with predictive insights into consumers by providing key balance and payment data for the previous 24 months. This is important as lenders can determine if a consumer’s credit behavior has improved or deteriorated over time. In turn, lenders can: Identify creditworthy customers: Establish if a consumer has a demonstrated ability to pay, is consistently paying more than the minimum payment, or shows no signs of payment stress. Increase response rates: Match the right products with the right prospects. Determine upsell and cross-sell opportunities: Present relevant offers based on anticipated needs and behaviors. Limit loss exposure: Understand the direction and velocity of payment performance to effectively manage risk exposure. Trended data helps lenders better predict future behavior, manage portfolio risk and design the best marketing offers. Turning insights into action Together, trended and expanded FCRA-regulated data benefit lenders and consumers alike. With a more holistic view of their customers, lenders gain powerful insights to lend deeper, ultimately helping them to expand their portfolios and drive greater access to credit for underserved communities. Learn more 1 The Recovery of Credit Applications to Pre-Pandemic Levels, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2021.