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Achieving Top Workplace recognition for 12 consecutive years is no small feat, yet Experian North America has done just that. Named a Top Workplace by the Orange County Register once again, this milestone reflects not just policies or benefits but what truly makes Experian exceptional: our people. As Hiq Lee, Chief People Officer at Experian North America, notes, this honor is a testament to the remarkable contributions of our team. Experian’s employees shape an environment where innovation, inclusivity, and purpose thrive. More Than Work What sets Experian apart is our engagement with the world and community. Through initiatives like the Experian Volunteer Leadership Network and partnerships with organizations such as the Octane Foundation for Innovation and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Orange County Education Foundation, our impact extends beyond the workplace. In 2024, we earned additional recognitions, including being named one of the World’s Best Workplaces™ by Fortune and Great Place to Work®. We were also recognized as one of the Best Workplaces for Parents, Millennials, and in Technology. The Secret to Success Our success lies in focusing on people. Experian is a place where careers are built, ideas are encouraged, and employees feel valued. Initiatives such as, Employee Resource Groups foster belonging, Mental Health First Aiders provide support, and technology hackathons inspire creativity. Innovation at the Core Innovation continues to drive our success. By leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, we are redefining decision-making and fraud prevention. This commitment to innovation empowers businesses and consumers worldwide, aligning with our mission to promote financial inclusivity. Looking Ahead For Experian, being a Top Workplace for more than a decade isn’t a finish line—it’s a springboard. With an ongoing commitment to our employees and communities, we continue to evolve, creating better experiences for our team, clients, and the world. Related Posts

The rise of Generative AI (GenAI) is fueling a new wave of sophisticated fraud, transforming the financial services landscape. Experian’s 2024 Global Identity & Fraud Report highlights the challenges businesses face, and the strategies needed to protect consumers while maintaining seamless digital experiences. Based on insights from more than 1,000 business and fraud leaders, and 4,000 consumers worldwide, the report identifies three key forces shaping fraud prevention: GenAI-Powered Fraud: Fraudsters use AI to craft highly personalized attacks, exploiting vulnerabilities across the customer journey. Evolving Regulations: Stricter government requirements demand rapid adaptation of fraud prevention strategies. Customer Expectations: Consumers prioritize secure, efficient services. Many abandon brands after poor account-opening or transactional experiences. A Multi-Layered Defense The report emphasizes the need for a multi-layered approach to combat fraud effectively. Businesses are increasing investments in AI, machine learning, and data-sharing networks to detect and prevent fraud in real-time. “Fraud operates across borders and targets various points in the customer journey,” said Greg Wright, Experian’s Executive Vice President of Identity and Fraud. “Businesses must leverage advanced analytics and alternative data to stay ahead of these evolving threats.” Balancing Security and Experience Consumers value security, but demand convenience. Striking the right balance is critical, as many switch providers after experiencing delays or cumbersome processes. Businesses can succeed by: Using Advanced Analytics: Leveraging AI-driven insights to prevent fraud while maintaining smooth customer experiences. Orchestrating Fraud Prevention: Integrating tools to provide a 360-degree view of customers, ensuring fraud detection is seamless and comprehensive. The Path Forward The rise of GenAI fraud underscores the need for global collaboration and innovation. By adopting advanced technologies and prioritizing customer-centric solutions, businesses can protect consumers while fostering trust. Experian’s 2024 report offers actionable insights for navigating these challenges. Download the full report to learn how to outpace fraudsters while delivering secure, seamless experiences.

The advertising ecosystem has seen significant transformation over the past few years, with increased privacy regulation, changes in available signals, and the rise of channels like connected TV and retail media. These changes are impacting the way that consumers interact with brands and how brands understand and continue to deliver relevant messages to consumers with precision.   Experian has been helping marketers navigate these changes, and as a result, our marketing data and identity solutions underpin much of today’s advertising industry. We’re committed to empowering marketers and agencies to understand and reach their target audiences, across all channels. Today, we are excited to announce our acquisition of Audigent—a leading data and activation platform in the advertising industry.   With Audigent’s combination of first-party publisher data, inventory and deep supply-side distribution relationships, publishers, big and small, can empower marketers to better understand their customers, expand the reach of their target audiences and activate those audiences across the most impactful inventory.      I am excited to bring together Audigent’s supply-side network as a natural extension to our existing demand-side capabilities. Audigent’s ability to combine inventory with targeted audiences using first-party, third-party and contextual signals provides the best of all worlds, allowing marketers to deliver campaigns centered on consumer choices, preferences, and behaviors.    The addition of Audigent further strengthens our strategy to be the premier independent provider of marketing data and identity, ultimately creating more relevant experiences for consumers.   To learn more about Experian and Audigent, visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/ and https://audigent.com/.  

Modernizing the conversation around credit and financial literacy is a key commitment for Experian, especially for young adults. That’s why we partner with organizations like the Singleton Foundation to produce “Your World on Money,” to meet young people where they are, with engaging, easy-to-understand video shorts about credit, budgeting, and saving and more.   We’re thrilled this commitment and creativity has earned both Gold and Bronze Anthem Awards, which recognize excellence in social good, celebrate the impactful work of organizations and initiatives that are driving positive change. Financial literacy is often not taught in schools, and the language around credit and personal finance can be intimidating. By normalizing these conversations, we hope to inspire confidence and action, helping young adults make informed financial decisions as they navigate life’s milestones. Our United for Financial Health partnership with the Singleton Foundation continues with our new series, the Finance Couch, where college students join our experts on a coach in the middle of a Los Angeles campus to answer their money questions. And our Anthem Award-winning series, HeartBroke, helps couples whose relationships are tested with financial issues to determine if they can work through it or end up HeartBroke(n).

Great Place to Work and Fortune have named Experian as one of the 25 World’s Best Workplaces™ 2024. This recognition highlights more than an award—it shows a commitment to our strong People First culture. Experian Chief People Officer Jacky Simmonds shares insights on how our people across the globe cultivate this culture, staying ahead of the curve through a unique blend of inclusivity, empathy, and a shared purpose. What does it mean to you, and to Experian, to be named among Fortune's World’s Best Places to Work? At Experian, we have long aspired to be one of the best companies in the world to work for, and over the past few years, we have made this a priority. Our journey has been marked by a commitment to putting our people first and fostering the collaborative and inclusive culture that sets us apart. This recognition reflects the common values that we share across our many countries and cultures and the dedication of our colleagues across our business.  We spend so much of our time at work, so I think it’s important that every interaction - from the interview process to joining and every daily interaction - is a positive one where people are welcoming, supportive and generally just really nice people to work with. Reaching this milestone gives all of us at Experian some recognition, but also it is inspiring as we continue to strive to attract top talent who share our values, share our purpose and make every day an enjoyable one. How does Experian create an environment where employees feel empowered to innovate and contribute ideas that drive real impact?  To fulfill our mission of bringing Financial Power to All™, we need as many voices, experiences and backgrounds as possible, so we can represent our clients’ differing needs. This culture of inclusion drives our innovations. We have employee-led initiatives, such as internal Hackathons that bring together these diverse perspectives to develop products and services like Experian Boost, Experian Go, Experian Smart Money Digital Checking Account, Experian Support Hub, and Transforme-se so we can serve the communities in which we live and work. How has Experian adapted to changing employee expectations since the pandemic, and what steps has the company taken to support employee well-being and work-life balance?  We know that our people really value the ability to have flexible work model, so they can work to fulfill their role in a way that works for them. For some this is fully remote, for others it is hybrid so a balance of remote and in office, and for others in office, where their role requires it fully. We know from the feedback that we get that our people appreciate that we trust them and they have flexibility to deal with varying commitments that we all have outside of work. We also know that since the pandemic there has been an increased focused on wellbeing. Sponsored by our Chief Financial Officer, we embarked upon an initiative to invest in how we support people who may need additional support. We are very proud of our Mental Health First Aiders programme, which has trained around 400 colleagues across the world representing 23 countries and 28 languages and helping their teammates access resources. These volunteers receive consistent, ongoing and updated training. What specific initiatives or programmes at Experian do you believe set the company apart in terms of supporting professional growth and career development?  We have invested in a number of things that we believe really make the difference. The first is developing great leaders at every level. Today’s leaders have many more challenges, many different age groups, a balance of remote and in person working, together with teams based in many different locations. Great leaders build great teams, so we think it’s important to invest in their development. That’s we built a leadership development portal - The Leadership Exchange - that has a wide range of resources to support them, including development programmes tailored to their needs. We also want to ensure that everyone at every level can develop their skills and progress their careers. So we launched our annual Global Careers Week, Experian University, and built a world-class digital curriculum so everyone can access the form of development they need based on their role or aspirations. There really is something for everyone. This way, we help our teams stay ahead of trends and ensure our business is equipped with the skills needed for the future. Looking forward, what are key goals or priorities for further enhancing Experian’s culture and employee experience?  We’re truly proud of this amazing recognition, but we always strive to get better and acknowledge there’s always more to be done. We see an opportunity to make things easier in the way we leverage advanced technologies like AI to further enhance employee experience. For example, more personalised learning pathways, improved tools for productivity and collaboration. We make sure we don’t lose the human touch, but we also want to make the most of these innovations so we stay relevant with our largely tech populations. Being named one of the world’s best workplaces reflects Experian’s unwavering commitment to be recognized for having a great culture where people can do their best work with people they enjoy working with. Learn more about what makes Experian a World’s Best Workplace in the People section of our Annual Report and the Experian Power of YOU Report 2024: Driving social impact and diversity, equity and inclusion, available in English, Portuguese and Spanish. 

While the credit reporting industry is designed to help lenders and creditors minimize risk and assess consumers’ ability and willingness to repay outstanding debt, let’s be clear: the consumer is our main priority. Every lending decision and action is made with the consumers’ best interest in mind. Because consumers rely on credit and other loan products to purchase homes and cars, pay for college, afford goods and services, and even bridge the gap during emergencies, the credit reporting industry has been at the forefront of broadening access to fair and affordable financial resources.   Risk-based pricing has made it possible for more consumers to access credit, particularly those with limited-to-no credit history or subprime credit profiles. Previously, lenders may have opted not to extend credit to consumers considered higher risk; but more and more, lenders are empowered to tailor borrowing terms based on a consumer’s credit history. In addition, because lenders don’t have to absorb unforeseen risk, lower borrowing costs can be maintained for all consumers. Experian has long advocated for expanded data sources, such as rent and utilities payments, to be incorporated onto consumer credit reports and considered in lending decisions. In 2019, we launched a product  that empowers consumers to add positive payment history for utilities, telecoms and video streaming services—and eventually residential rent—directly into their Experian credit report. Our efforts coincide with legislation, such as S.2417 – the Credit Access and Inclusion Act, introduced by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) in 2021, which encourages the reporting of consumer payment history, including rent, utilities, and telecom services, to the nationwide credit reporting agencies. This is key to broadening access to fair and affordable credit for underserved consumers.  The industry needs to continue to explore other avenues that can help consumers improve their financial health, such as the role that buy now, pay later information can play in increasing financial inclusion. Empowering consumers to take control Beyond legislation or the use of expanded data, many non-profit and community based organizations are championing initiatives that drive greater financial inclusion. Organizations such as Inclusiv, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, HomeFree-USA, National Urban League and the Society for Financial Education & Personal Development, among others, are helping individuals and households from underserved communities navigate the mainstream financial system and take control of their financial lives. Experian and other financial institutions are partnering with non-profit organizations with deep roots in communities, allowing them to connect with community leaders and individuals on a more personal level. Every individual enters the credit ecosystem at a different stage so it’s important that banks and financial institutions listen to the specific challenges they’re experiencing. For example, individuals may be searching for credit monitoring and alerts, budgeting tools or ways to put more money back into their wallets, such as finding cost-efficient options for auto insurance. Providing individuals and households with the financial knowledge and access to tools better positions them to become financially independent. The credit reporting industry continues to provide more resources and transparency to help improve consumers’ financial health. All individuals deserve the opportunity to establish and build their credit so they are able to elevate and maintain their financial status.

Today at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, Experian unveiled Experian Assistant, a groundbreaking toolset that transforms analytics and modeling for financial institutions. By leveraging Generative AI (GenAI), this revolutionary solution slashes model development turning months-long processes into days—or even hours. Positioned as a game-changer, Experian Assistant offers businesses the equivalent of a seasoned expert, guiding them through complex use cases with ease and redefining how financial organizations approach data-driven insights. Revolutionizing Modeling with Generative AI Experian Assistant marks a significant leap forward in how businesses handle the modeling lifecycle. Integrated into the Experian Ascend Technology Platform™, Experian Assistant is designed to streamline data analytics processes, enhance accuracy, and promote efficiency. This debut underscores Experian’s commitment to responsible AI innovation, ensuring that organizations benefit from advanced analytics without compromising on privacy or ethical standards. “Many financial institutions are looking to invest in new generative AI use cases, often focused on banker specific support,” said Craig Focardi, Principal Analyst at Celent. “Experian Assistant focuses on developer support to accelerate the development lifecycle by having a digital model building consultant available to users.” Empowering Data Scientists and Analysts With its powerful natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, Experian Assistant is reshaping how data scientists and analysts approach complex tasks. Traditionally, navigating large datasets and building models required extensive technical expertise. But now, Experian Assistant allows users to query data, write code, and build models in plain language—democratizing access to sophisticated analytics. The tool not only boosts productivity but also fosters collaboration and accessibility. This innovation will drive financial inclusion by broadening access to data-driven insights and responsible use of data across organizations. Developed in Collaboration with Leading Financial Institutions A standout feature of Experian Assistant is its development in close partnership with the world’s largest financial institutions. This collaboration ensures that the tool is finely tuned to real-world challenges, delivering deep insights into Experian’s data assets. By optimizing analytics processes, businesses can achieve proven cost savings, enhanced data visibility, and faster product deployment. Continental Finance Company, for example, reduced data-building time by a remarkable 75% after adopting Experian Assistant. This kind of impact highlights the tool’s ability to accelerate model development while maintaining strict data privacy standards—a vital consideration for financial institutions. Advanced Compliance and Transparency In today’s highly regulated environment, businesses must not only meet compliance standards but also provide transparency into their processes. Experian Assistant is designed with these needs in mind, offering advanced features that support regulatory reporting, identity management, risk assessments, and transaction monitoring. A Competitive Edge through GenAI With more than a decade of AI expertise, Experian is leading the charge in responsible AI development. At Money 20/20, Experian Assistant stood out as a testament to this leadership. The tool is positioned to offer financial institutions a competitive edge, improving risk assessment, enhancing customer experiences, and promoting financial inclusion. As the financial services industry continues to evolve, businesses that embrace GenAI solutions like Experian Assistant will be better positioned to succeed. This groundbreaking tool is not just an enhancement—it’s a fundamental shift in how analytics and modeling are conducted, offering the speed, accuracy, and transparency that today’s market demands.

People rely on credit cards, personal loans, mortgages and auto loans, among other financial products to buy homes, fund college educations, weather temporary income disruptions and finance billions of daily transactions for goods and services. Credit is the cornerstone of the pursuit of our financial ambitions. That’s why the credit reporting industry is deeply committed to broadening access to fair and affordable financial resources for all consumers, particularly for individuals and households from underserved communities. The commitment is underscored by the continual effort to evolve the credit reporting system and incorporate new data sets to provide lenders a more comprehensive view of consumers’ ability and capacity to repay outstanding debt. Although progress has been made to extend credit to more prospective borrowers across the risk spectrum, if we want to continue to broaden the scope, we need to encourage the consistent reporting of additional predictive data sources to help lenders assess consumers’ creditworthiness. A proven track record but there’s more work to do Over the past century, the credit reporting industry transitioned from an opaque system founded on relationships to one rooted in data. Lenders lean on past payment history on similar loans (i.e., auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, etc.) as a reliable predictor of a borrower’s future loan payment performance—it’s a way for them to mitigate risk and say “yes” to more borrowers.   And it works. The comprehensive reporting of past loan performance, coupled with increasingly sophisticated statistical prediction models, as well as the adoption of risk-based pricing, accelerated the extension of credit to more consumers. Yet, according to research from Experian and Oliver Wyman, millions of Americans lack access to mainstream credit because they are credit invisible, unscorable or have a subprime credit score. It’s particularly challenging for younger individuals, newly arrived immigrants and historically underserved communities, such as racial and ethnic minorities. At times it can be a catch-22; in order to get credit, you have to have credit. More predictive data is key At Experian, we’ve long understood that expanding the universe of creditworthy borrowers requires more data. In addition to some of the more conventional tradelines, such as mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, we have to explore expanded data sources that are predictive of a prospective borrower’s credit risk. For instance, more consumers are using buy now, pay later (BNPL) products, and nearly every consumer makes recurring monthly payments for rent, utilities, cell phones and even video streaming services, yet oftentimes, these data points are not consistently reported to the credit reporting agencies nor considered during lending decisions. Collectively, the industry and regulators, need to do more to encourage the consistent reporting and inclusion of expanded data onto consumers’ credit reports.    In fact, based on our research, we’ve found that some of the aforementioned expanded data sources can empower lenders to assess the credit risk of a significantly larger pool of consumers. These expanded data sources have been shown to be highly accurate predictors of future loan payment behavior. And, when expanded data is combined with advanced analytics, up to 96% of the population can be scored, including an estimated 65% of credit invisibles.1 Broadening access to fair and affordable credit for more consumers means leaning into combining conventional tradelines with expanded Fair Credit Report Act-regulated data sources. The more information lenders have available to them about prospective borrowers’ past payment performance the more empowered they are to minimize risk and more confidently extend credit. Pushing for more data is the best path forward.

In an era where financial transactions occur at the click of a button, the significance of accurately verifying and authenticating consumers’ identities cannot be overstated. From online purchases to mobile banking, ensuring secure and reliable digital connections and safeguarding consumers’ information are table stakes for any business operating in the digital ecosystem. Unfortunately, some advocacy groups are calling for stricter regulatory guidelines that may impede business’ ability to effectively and efficiently protect a consumer’s financial information and identity. We’re, of course, referring to the push to classify credit header data— identifying information, such as name, current and former addresses, phone number and Social Security number, found at the top of credit reports—as a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Subjecting credit header information to the FCRA will unnecessarily limit its permitted use, and effectively make it more difficult—and potentially impossible—for banks and other businesses to use the information to authenticate and verify consumers’ identities. It’s an unintended consequence that will surely compromise the security of our digital identities.  Foundational to fraud prevention Credit header data plays a pivotal role in helping businesses detect suspicious activity and stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. With credit header information, banks and other financial institutions cross-reference loan applications against transactions from hundreds of thousands of contributors to spot anomalies and thwart fraudsters before they inflict harm. In fact, many of the industry’s most advanced fraud prevention tools and signals rely on credit header data to verify the legitimacy of any given transaction. Keep in mind, the transactions we’re referring to are transactions of consequence. For instance, opening a new bank account, applying for a loan or transferring money. This level of activity carries inherent risk, and without proper vigilance, could result in significant financial or reputational harm to consumers and businesses. But it’s not only lenders that leverage credit header data, the use cases for credit header data are broad. Government agencies and businesses in the public sector, law enforcement, and some pharmacies use the information to issue one-time passcodes for identification purposes, find missing persons, or verify consumers’ identities prior to prescriptions being filled. Credit header data is already regulated Some of the concern surrounding credit header data centers on consumer privacy, and rightfully so. Protecting consumers’ privacy should be central to the use of sensitive information; however, credit header data is already regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. In fact, for more than 25 years, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act specifically provides that the permissible use of credit header data includes fraud prevention, while also mandating consumer privacy and data protection. Subjecting credit header data to additional FCRA regulation, which does not clearly allow for fraud prevention, could make it impractical or impossible for many businesses to use it for that purpose.  Not only is additional regulation unnecessary, but it potentially creates a contradictory web of regulations that increases the compliance burden and confusion for many businesses. This ultimately thwarts the purpose of GLBA by delaying fraud prevention efforts and potentially raising costs for consumers. Credit header data is far more than information included at the top of consumers’ credit reports, it is a linchpin that powers many of the most advanced fraud prevention and identify verification tools in the market. Before any further regulation is considered, we have to acknowledge the role that credit header data plays in keeping consumers’ information safe and how any changes may impact the safety and soundness of our digital economy.