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Consumers generate hundreds, if not thousands, of digital interactions every day when they do things like shop on the internet, play games, manage their finances or stream entertainment. As businesses look to differentiate their brands and create positive consumer experiences, they need to reconcile these data points. Proper reconciliation of identity leads to insightful data that helps augment the way brands market to consumers, manage risk, and deliver secure, personalized experiences. Fulfilling the promise of identity can be a challenge, though, given the massive volumes of data that these consumer interactions generate, and the need to ensure privacy-compliant use. To help companies meet this challenge, Experian introduced an integrated suite of identity solutions, products and services called Experian Identity. It combines Experian’s sophisticated information technology systems and vast accumulation of consumer data to enable businesses to engage with consumers on a more perceptive, personalized basis. This recent Global News Blog entry addresses this topic well. Experian Identity is an ideal choice for companies that need identity resolution and fraud management solutions to further strengthen their customer relationships. One example of the innovative use of identity data is how it can give people with limited-to-no credit history access to a variety of useful financial instruments. By incorporating expanded data sources that contain identity information, such as rent, utilities, telecom, and video streaming services, as well as buy now, pay later data into credit reports, consumers who are underrepresented in the current credit reporting system can provide a more comprehensive view into their ability and willingness to repay outstanding debt. Lastly, Experian Identity is laser-focused on compliance for consumer consent and control around identity. A recent advertorial in the news outlet AXIOS offers more background on how businesses can use identity data to stay relevant with their target audiences and create a positive and safe consumer experience. Click here to read more. For more information on how Experian Identity helps optimize identity solutions, visit www.experian.com/identity-solutions. To learn how making identities personal builds trust and helps organizations create improved experiences for consumers and businesses, download the Making Identities Personal white paper.
Two of Experian’s core values – innovation and financial inclusion – are on full display with Experian Boost™ being selected for Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards, which celebrates the “broadest ideas … that have the potential to affect true systems change.” Experian Boost is a first-of-its-kind service designed to help consumers improve their credit profile and thrive financially. Nearly 9 million people have connected the service to report their on-time utility, telecom, and video streaming service payments. The service tackles inequity and exclusion from the credit economy by enabling consumers to add positive payment history that reinforces their personal financial reliability directly into their Experian credit file, which can potentially boost their credit score instantly. At Experian, we continually focus on expanding credit to underserved communities. Most recently we introduced Experian Go™, a brand-new program that can potentially help the nearly 50 million people in the United States who have a nonexistent or limited credit history. This Fast Company recognition also reflects our purpose and innovative culture focused on creating products and solutions that help consumers thrive, including Experian Boost in the UK and Serasa’s Score Turbo in Brazil. Every day at Experian we are investing in new technologies, talented employees, and innovation to help consumers and our clients maximize every opportunity we have to offer.
Last year, while still in the grip of the effects of the pandemic, Experian North America continued to reinforce our core purpose and People First approach through creating a workplace culture of belonging, employee wellness and personal and professional growth. It’s especially rewarding that this commitment, along with our financial planning and consumer education resources, were highlighted in this year’s Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For award recognition. For the third year in a row, Experian North America was named to the prestigious national list that honors the “100 Best companies that adapted to massive changes in the workplace by prioritizing employee well-being, inclusion, purpose, listening and care wherever their employees are.” To determine this year’s 100 Best list, Great Place to Work®, America’s largest ongoing annual workforce study, surveyed more than 870,000 employees and gathered data from companies representing more than 6.1 million employees. The survey enables employees to share confidential feedback about their organization’s culture and the employee experience. Great Place to Work cited that “Experian has expanded benefits to include fertility, surrogacy, and adoption coverage and enhanced its higher education financial planning resources. It’s also tackling workplace equity from the very start of the hiring process with an in-house tool called Lingo that identifies gender-biased language in job descriptions.” In addition, “Experian began to hold conferences for employees to discuss their personal struggles during the pandemic. Since then, the company has continued to improve wellness initiatives, while staying committed to flexibility around employee schedules.” “At Experian we’re especially proud of our purpose-driven culture, where all our people play a role in making a positive impact in the day-to-day lives of the consumers, clients and communities we serve. This includes taking care of each other, celebrating our individual differences, and delivering on our purpose to create a better tomorrow for people everywhere,” said Jennifer Schulz, Chief Executive Officer of Experian North America. “This recognition from Fortune reflects the very best Experian offers to all those we help, and I couldn’t be prouder of our people and the work we’re doing.” At Experian, we believe bringing together unique experiences, diverse backgrounds and individual differences creates a dynamic, innovative and inspiring workplace — one reflective of the clients and communities we serve around the globe. This is why it’s such an honor to be recognized alongside other outstanding brands on the Best 100 list that prioritize their employees. This recognition continues the momentum we’ve built in recent months with other industry accolades and awards. In February, Experian North America was named a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” for the fourth year in a row in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index 2022, receiving a perfect score in the foundation’s evaluation. Last year, Experian North America was named to the Fortune Best Workplaces for Women™ 2021 among large organizations and 100 Best Large Workplaces for Millennials. In addition, we were ranked the #1 Top Workplace in 2021 by the Orange County Register for the second consecutive year.
For the past several years, we’ve been on a journey to improve financial access for millions of people around the world. We’ve made it our job to help consumers get the best financial outcomes. This focus on consumers defines us and informs everything we do. In 2019, we reshaped how consumers access credit with Experian Boost™. Since then, nearly 9 million consumers have connected to the product. While we are proud of what we have and continue to accomplish with Experian Boost, we know there is more to be done to ensure more consumers can access fair and affordable credit. Improving outcomes for underserved consumers When credit is used responsibly, it can create new opportunities from getting a college degree, buying a car or home and starting or expanding a business. These are milestones that help people establish careers, build wealth and ultimately achieve greater financial freedom. Yet, there are millions of consumers who are unable to participate in the mainstream financial ecosystem today because they don’t have a financial identity. In fact, our recent research shows there are at least 28 million credit invisibles in the U.S. with an additional 21 million consumers who are unscoreable by the credit score models most used by lenders today. Without an established credit history, these consumers struggle to qualify for everything from an auto loan to a mortgage and even an apartment or employment. This problem more frequently impacts communities of color with 28 percent of all Black and 26 percent of all Hispanic consumers currently unscoreable or credit invisible. Increasing financial inclusion depends on creating opportunities for underrepresented consumers to succeed. And this starts with ensuring all consumers have a financial identity. Bringing financial power to all with Experian Go The challenge is many consumers who are not in the credit ecosystem today are unsure where to start. Today, we reached a pivotal and exciting milestone in our commitment to consumers with the launch of Experian Go™. This new program opens the front door to the financial ecosystem for millions of consumers by helping them establish their financial identity and move from credit invisible to scoreable. Within minutes, credit invisibles can have an authenticated Experian credit report, tradelines and a credit history by using Experian Boost™[1], and instant access to financial offers through Experian Go. In fact, early analysis shows 91 percent of consumers with no credit history who connect to Experian Boost, a free feature that allows users to contribute their on-time cell phone, video streaming service, internet, and utility payments directly to their Experian credit report, can become scoreable in minutes with an average starting near-prime FICO® Score of 665[2]. Throughout the experience, we’ll provide ongoing credit education and access to tools like Experian Boost™ to make it easy for consumers to learn how to use and responsibly grow their credit histories. Until now, our industry has struggled to verify the identity of credit invisibles. Over the last several years, we’ve introduced new identity verification technologies to our toolbox. With Experian Go, we’re leveraging these technologies to verify a credit invisible’s identity and get them in the front door to start building credit. No other credit bureau or organization is doing this today. During our pilot, we helped more than 15,000 consumers establish their credit history. This is a great start. Now that Experian Go has launched, I look forward to helping millions more consumers get the credit they deserve. To learn more about Experian Go, visit www.experian.com/go. [1] Results may vary. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost. [2] Experian analysis based on an anonymized and statistically relevant sample of consumer credit reports with only Experian Boost tradelines included and FICO® Scores. December 2021.
It’s a privilege to be recognized for a cause that’s important to so many of us at Experian. I am honored to be awarded a bronze Stevie® Award in the “Women Helping Women – Business” category for supporting women in Decision Analytics (DA) and overseeing our employee resource groups across DA. The award specifically calls out our long-standing Accelerated Development Program (ADP), which identifies and mentors women business leaders within our organization The Stevie Award trophy is one of the world's most coveted business prizes, representing more than 60 countries. The awards have been given to small, medium and large businesses for an array of categories since 2002. In 2018, HR Director Richard Teague and I helped launch ADP, which has identified 44 mid-career, high-potential women on the Global Decision Analytics team in a leadership training program. Around half of the women who participate have been promoted within two years. The ADP program also complements our DEI initiatives, which includes our five employee resource groups that have played a valuable connecting and our engagement our team members during both the pandemic and personal challenges. If you would like to find out more about any of the GDA DEI networks, including how you can get involved, please contact the relevant network lead: Mental Health – Chris Fletcher Disability and Neurodiversity – David Bernard LGBTQ+ - David Gallihawk Gender Network – Marika Vilen or Jen Cosgrove Race and Ethnicity – Shri Santhanam
An industry’s greatest innovators are successful not only because they deliver superior products in the present, but also – and perhaps more importantly – because they continuously solidify their place in the future through a drive to create a better tomorrow that encourages modernization and disruption. With this approach, Experian has been named Most Innovative Company of the Year in the 2021 11th Annual Best in Biz Awards. Over 700 companies entered, and winners of this prestigious honor were chosen by a small group of prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications like Associated Press, Forbes, CNET, and Wall Street Journal. In their day-to-day reporting, these judges hear about and cover companies which are on the forefront of innovation. Over the last year, Experian has focused on helping consumers and financial institutions with a wide range of challenges. This includes opening up credit to underserved communities, adapting to changing consumer expectations, addressing the growing threat from fraud, and becoming a more agile technology provider in an ever-changing market. We are truly honored to be recognized as Most Innovative Company of the Year by the Best in Biz Awards. Experian embraces a culture of discovery that enables us to grow and evolve while remaining at the forefront of innovation. Of course, the key is to never stop questioning, evolving, and innovating. And we won’t.
Over the past year at Experian, we’ve continued to facilitate innovation in the fintech space – leveraging our expertise and history of helping financial institutions and individuals address a wide range of challenges. We’re thrilled to be recognized for the impact of this important work, being named a global fintech leader in the Center for Financial Professionals (CeFPro) Fintech Leaders 2022 report. One of the most comprehensive international research and ranking programs on the status of fintech in financial services, CeFPro ranks Experian among the report’s top companies within the Fraud Prevention and Credit Risk categories, and in the top 15 Overall Ecosystem Rankings. This recognition showcases the value of fraud and identity management services amid the rise of digital channels, and critical importance of continuing to develop strategies to mitigate risk. At Experian we have a deep history in pioneering tools and services that prioritize improving financial health for all. Through the ongoing development of our core products and continued innovations, we believe improving financial health is how we can make a difference for institutions and individuals alike. Our core products harness the expertise of our people and are examples to others in the industry who look to advance innovation in the fintech space and beyond. We continue to invest in new technology and infrastructure to deliver fresh insights and transform the way businesses and consumers operate. For more than 125 years, we’ve helped consumers and clients prosper. Recognition by the CeFPro report is particularly meaningful to us. The study garners their rankings from the very individuals and institutions that engage with Experian – drawing on market analysis and original research that is also backed by an advisory board composed of 60 international industry professionals. We’re honored and inspired – and look forward to continuing to push the envelope in the fintech space and beyond.
The United Nations identifies removing poverty as one of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. There’s a reason it’s number one on their list: Access to affordable financial services opens the door to opportunities for people to transform their lives – from homes and healthcare to education and entrepreneurship.. At Experian, our focus is on increasing access to financial services, improving financial literacy and building consumer confidence; we help people take control of their financial health. We are using the power of data innovation to transform lives and help businesses grow, improving financial health for people around the world. We created a dedicated Social Innovation Programme to fund, build and recognize products that will have a positive impact on the financial health of consumers. Between 2013 and April 2021 we have invested over US$8m across 29 product ideas. Eighteen of those products have launched, reaching 61 million people, many of whom are from financially vulnerable backgrounds. In June, we opened applications for our latest round of annual Social Innovation funding and asked teams to come up with new innovative products that positively impact the financial health of our consumers and use data for good. Of these, seven projects were shortlisted and presented to our Social Innovation Committee, which I am privileged enough to chair. It was a tough decision, but we chose three truly diverse projects to receive this year’s Social Innovation funding and we are really excited about what they could achieve. These projects will give millions of people in India access to a more positive loan decision, allow citizens in the UK to manage their vulnerability data across multiple organisations, and help farmers in Brazil to access the credit they need to keep their businesses going. Between them, these three projects alone have the potential to reach over 85 million people in the next five years, which is a truly exciting prospect. We are proud to celebrate our culture of purpose-led innovation. Our social innovation products have reached 61 million people since 2013 and we aim to reach 100 million by 2025. Read more about how we are helping to create a better tomorrow.
It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Many of us will be starting to think about (or if you’re very organised, have already finished) their Christmas shopping. Black Friday sales will kick-off this week’s online bonanza, as bargain hunters pursue the best deals online. However, while we are all busy getting into the spirit of things, it has never been more vital that we do what we can to protect ourselves from identity fraud. As the popularity of the Black Friday sales season has grown, we’ve also seen a marked increase in the volume of fraudulent activity, as criminals use stolen or illegally obtained personal details to apply for credit in someone else’s name. According to our latest analysis of National Hunter Fraud Prevention Service data, the fraud rate for credit card applications has increased by 43% in the last three months to 69 confirmed fraudulent applications per 10,000 applications. It’s expected the rate will rise even more in December, as criminals look to take advantage. It’s naturally worrying if you are a victim of ID fraud. The fraudster will likely have tried to obtain credit in your name – perhaps on multiple occasions – and you’ll be concerned about how and from where they got hold of your information in the first place. Fortunately, there’s a host of things you can do to protect yourself. Checking your credit report on a regular basis is one of the best ways to spot if fraudsters have used your personal information to attempt to access credit, and our dedicated teams can help guide you through the steps if the worst happens and your identity has been stolen. New services and solutions are also helping companies identify and prevent more fraud. In part, the rise in rates can be attributed to better detection, helping fraud teams focus their energy on fraudulent applications, rather than genuine ones. So, while you’re browsing for gifts this festive season, make sure you are mindful of those looking to spoil your Christmas spirit. Help is available and you can read more on how to guard yourself against identity fraud on our website.