All posts by Guest Contributor

Digital channels undoubtedly create convenient experiences for consumers. We have the luxury of applying for loans or creating investment accounts from the comfort of home. However, the same opportunities are available to fraudsters. Fraudsters continue to find creative and innovative ways to expose vulnerabilities across all types of businesses. They prey on inexperienced or low-bandwidth teams that have not invested in the appropriate fraud tools in the past. Despite the imminent fraud risk involved, both consumers and businesses continue to embrace digital channels. With 90 percent of consumers worldwide conducting personal banking online, how do we protect these digital platforms with finite resources? A leading digital financial services company was forced to address this question when they experienced a large-scale fraud attack. But they weren’t in this fight alone. Download the full case study to see how our risk analyst used FraudNet to prevent millions of dollars in fraudulent funding. Client: A leading digital financial services company that operates with zero in-person branches with more than 7,000 employees Challenge/Objective: In October 2018, fraudsters deployed a large-scale, scripted attack against a North American financial services company. The fraud team was extremely understaffed. The fraud team was unable to detect and respond to the attack quickly. The fraudulent account opening activities eventually blended into account takeovers. Resolution: Our risk analyst worked quickly to analyze the geolocation, velocity and device rules firing within FraudNet for Account Opening. By having these rules in place, FraudNet was able to flag and outsort thousands of suspicious applications. Despite being a small team, the fraud investigators were able to work efficiently within the FraudNet workbench and review the true, high-risk applications. Results: Thanks to our risk analyst’s quick remediation and the FraudNet proprietary device rules: 23,800 fraudulent applications were outsorted for review. An estimated $35.7 million in fraudulent funding was prevented. However, the fight against fraud is ongoing. Our risk analyst continues to work closely with the fraud team to develop an effective strategy to prepare against future attacks.

Friend or foe? Sophisticated criminals put a great deal of effort into creating convincing, verifiable personas (AKA synthetic identities). Once the fictional customer has embedded itself in your business, everything from the acquisition of financial instruments to healthcare benefits, utility services, and tax filings and refunds become vulnerable to synthetic identity fraud. Information attached to synthetic IDs can run several levels deep and be so complete that it includes public record data, credit information, documentary evidence and social media profiles that may even contain photo sets and historical details intended to deceive—all complicating your efforts to identify these fake customers before you do business with them. See real-world examples of how synthetic identity fraud is souring various markets – from auto and healthcare to financial services and public sector – in our tip sheet, Four common synthetic scenarios. Stopping synthetic ID fraud — at the door and thereafter. There are efforts underway in the market to collectively improve your ability to identify, shut down and prevent synthetic identities from entering your portfolio. This overall trend is great news for the future, but there are also near-term solutions you can apply to protect your business starting now. While it’s important to identify synthetic identities when they knock on your door, it’s just as important to conduct regular portfolio checkups to prevent negative impacts to your collections efforts. Every circumstance has its own unique parameters, but the overarching steps necessary to mitigate fraud from synthetic IDs remain the same: Identify current and near-term exposure using targeted segmentation analysis. Apply technology that alerts you when identity data doesn’t add up. Differentiate fraudulent identities from those simply based on bad data. Review front- and back-end screening procedures until they satisfy best practices. Achieve a “single view of the customer” for all account holders across access channels—online, mobile, call center and face-to-face. The right tools for the job. In addition to the steps mentioned above, stopping these fake customers from entering and then stealing from your organization isn’t easy—but with the right tools and strategies, it is possible. Here are a few of our top recommendations: Forensics Isolate and segment identities based on signals received during early account pathing, from both individuals and their device. For example, even sophisticated fraud networks can’t mimic natural per-device user interaction because these organizations work with hundreds or thousands of synthetic identities using just a few devices. It’s highly unlikely that multiple geographically separate account holders would share the same physical device. High-risk fraud scores Not all synthetic identity fraud manifests the same way. Using sophisticated logic and unique combinations of data, a high-risk fraud score looks at a consumer’s credit behavior and credit relationships over time to uncover previously undetectable risk. These scores are especially successful in detecting identities that are products of synthetic identity farms. And by targeting a specific data set and relationships, you can maintain a frictionless customer experience and reduce false positives. Analytics Use a solution that develops models of bad applicant behavior, then compares and scores your portfolio against these models. There isn’t a single rule for detecting fraudulent identities, but you can develop an informed set of rules and targeted models with the right service partner. Cross-referencing models designed to isolate high-risk identity theft cases, first-party or true-name fraud schemes, and synthetic identities can be accomplished in a decisioning strategy or via a custom model that incorporates the aggregate scores and attributes holistically. Synthetic identity detection rules These specialized rules consist of numerous conditions that evaluate a broad selection of consumer behaviors. When they occur in specific combinations, these behaviors indicate synthetic identity fraud. This broad-based approach provides a comprehensive evaluation of an identity to more effectively determine if it’s fabricated. It also helps reduce the incidence of inaccurately associating a real identity with a fictitious one, providing a better customer experience. Work streams Address synthetic identities confidently by applying analytics to work streams throughout the customer life cycle: Credit risk assessment Know Your Customer/Customer Identification Program checks Risk-based identity proofing and authentication Existing account management Manual reviews, investigations and charge-offs/collections activities Learn more about these tools and others that can help you mitigate synthetic identities in our white paper, Synthetic identities: getting real with customers. If your organization is like most, detecting SIDs hasn't been your top priority. So, there's no time to waste in preventing them from entering your portfolio. Criminals are highly motivated to innovate their approaches as rapidly as possible, and it’s important to implement a solution that addresses the continued rise of synthetic IDs from multiple engagement points. With the right set of analytics and decisioning tools, you can reduce exposure to fraud and losses stemming from synthetic identity attacks from the beginning and across the customer life cycle. We can help you detect and mitigate these fake customers before they become delinquent. Learn more

  You can do everything you can to prepare for the unexpected. But similar to how any first-time parent feels… you might need some help. Call in the grandparents! Experian has extensive expertise and has been around for a long time in the industry, but unlike your traditional grandparents, Experian continuously innovates, researches trends, and validates best practices in fraud and identity verification. That’s why we explored two prominent fraud reports, Javelin’s 2019 Identity Fraud Study: Fraudsters Seek New Targets and Victims Bear the Brunt and Experian’s 2019 Global Identity and Fraud Report — Consumer trust: Building meaningful relationships online, to help you identify and respond to new trends surrounding fraud. What we found – and what you need to know – is there are trends, technology and tactics that can help and hinder your fraud-prevention efforts. Consider the many digital channels available today. A full 91 percent of consumers transacted online in 2018. This presents a great opportunity for businesses to serve and develop relationships with customers. It also presents a great opportunity for fraudsters as well – as almost half of consumers have experienced a fraudulent online event. Since the threat of fraud is not impacting customers’ willingness to transact online, businesses are held responsible for adapting and evolving to not only protect their customers, but to secure their bottom line. This becomes increasingly important as fraudsters continue to target and expose vulnerabilities across inexperienced lines of businesses. Or, how about passwords. Research has shown that both businesses and consumers have greater confidence in biometrics, but neither is ready to stop using passwords. The continued reliance on traditional authentication methods is a delicate balance between security, trust and convenience. Passwords provide both authentication and consumer confidence in the online experience. It also adds friction to the user experience – and sometimes aggravation when passwords are forgotten. Advanced methods, like physical and behavioral biometrics and device intelligence, are gaining user confidence by both businesses and consumers. But a completely frictionless authentication experience can leave consumers doubting the safeness of their transaction. As you respond and adapt to our ever-evolving world, we encourage you to build and strengthen a trusted relationship with your customers through transparency. Consumers know that businesses are collection data about them. When a business is transparent about the use of that data, digital trust and consumer confidence soars. Through a stronger relationship, customers are more willing to accept friction and need fewer signs of security. Learn more about these and other trends, technology and tactics that can help and hinder your authentication efforts in our new E-book, Upcoming fraud trends and how to combat them.

There were 276 million vehicles on the road in Q1 2019.

  Debt management is becoming increasingly complex. People don’t answer their phones anymore. There are many, many communication channels available (email, text, website, etc.) and just as many preferences from consumers regarding how they communicate. Prioritizing how much time and effort to spend on a debtor often requires help from advanced analytics and machine learning to optimize those strategies. Whether you are manually managing your collections strategies or are using advanced optimization to increase recovery rates, we’ve got keys to help you improve your recover rates. Watch our webinar, Keys to unlocking debt management success, to learn about: Minimizing the flow of accounts into collections and ensuring necessary information (e.g. risk, contact data) is used to determine the best course of action for accounts entering collections Recession readiness – prepare for the next recession to minimize impact Reducing costs and optimizing collections treatment strategies based on individual consumer circumstances and preferences Increasing recovery rates and improving customer experience by enabling consumers to interact with your organization in the most effective, efficient and non-threatening way possible Watch on-demand now>

Many may think of digital transformation in the financial services industry as something like emailing a PDF of a bank statement instead of printing it and sending via snail mail. After working with data, analytics, software and fraud-prevention experts, I have found that digital transformation is actually much more than PDFs. It can have a bigger and more positive influence on a business’s bottom line – especially when built on a foundation of data. Digital transformation is the new business model. And executives agree. Seventy percent of executives feel the traditional business model will disappear in the next five years due to digital transformation, according to recent Experian research. Our new e-book, Powering digital transformation: Transforming the customer experience with data, analytics and automation, says, “we live in a world of ‘evolve or fail.’ From Kodak to Blockbuster, we’ve seen businesses resist change and falter. The need to evolve is not new. What is new is the speed and depth needed to not only compete, but to survive. Digital startups are revolutionizing industries in months and years instead of decades and centuries.” So how do businesses evolve digitally? First, they must understand that this isn’t a ‘one-and-done’ event. The e-book suggests that the digital transformation life cycle is a never-ending process: Cleanse, standardize and enrich your data to create features or attributes Analyze your data to derive pertinent insights Automate your models and business practices to provide customer-centric experiences Test your techniques to find ways to improve Begin the process again Did you notice the key word or phrase in each of these steps is ‘data’ or ‘powered by data?’ Quality, reliable data is the foundation of digital transformation. In fact, almost half of CEOs surveyed said that lack of data or analytical insight is their biggest challenge to digital transformation. Our digital world needs better access to and insight from data because information derived from data, tempered with wisdom, provides the insight, speed and competitive advantage needed in our hypercompetitive environment. Data is the power behind digital transformation. Learn more about powering your digital transformation in our new e-book>

Beginning with the birth of stock muscle cars, like the Pontiac GTO, vehicles with powerful V8 engines permeated the roads in the 1960s. Given consumers’ “need for speed,” these vehicles were synonymous with American culture following World War II - some going as far as to call muscle cars as American as apple pie. It’s no doubt that these vehicles have made an undeniable lasting impression on the automotive industry. Today, there are still automotive enthusiasts who appreciate the style and strength of the muscle car, but most of us want practical vehicles with better fuel economy and easy maintenance. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in the volume of 4-cylinder vehicles on the road.   As seen in the graphic above, over the last 11 years, 4-cylinder engines have increased in volume over 55%, 6-cylinder have declined 4% and 8-cylinders have increased 9.8%. More power, smaller engines This trend doesn’t necessarily mean that those of us who elect for a smaller engine size aren’t able to satisfy our need for speed. Horsepower has received a significant boost over the past two decades. This has been partially driven by EPA guidelines, as manufacturers have implemented engine enhancements to increase gas mileage to meet the guidelines, resulting in higher horsepower. 4-cylinder engines have as much horsepower today as 6-cylinder engines had in 2003. That gives today’s drivers a lot more pep in engine performance. Similarly, today's 6-cylinder engines have nearly the same horsepower today that V8s had in 2009. Where does that leave true muscle car enthusiasts? Well, if you are looking for raw power, things are looking up. In 2018, V8 engines averaged a whopping 370.4 horsepower, nearly double V8 output of 204 horsepower in 1999. Those who buy V8s today have power to burn. Above chart detailing percentage of total volume count and average vehicle MAX HP over history. The automotive market is driven by consumer preferences and offers a range of engine options, which provides something for everyone. The boost in horesepower in today’s engines provides a nice mix of fuel economy and performance. While muscle cars remain an important fixture in American society and automotive culture, demand has shifted and understanding these data points in the broader industry context empowers dealers to make the right inventory decisions. To learn more about the latest automotive trends impacting the marketplace, view the full Q4 2018 Automotive Market Trends Analysis.

When it comes to new vehicle registration, there is one segment that stands out from the pack: crossover vehicles. According to Experian’s Q4 2018 Automotive Market Trends Analysis, over the last four years, crossovers (CUVs) have spiked in popularity, representing about a third of new vehicle registrations in 2014 (34.1 percent), but growing to nearly half the new vehicle market in 2018 (47.6 percent). In fact, the large growth in CUVs isn’t limited to just the last four years – there was a large volume of growth year-over-year compared to 2017; the share has grown nearly 4 percent. Sedans and hatchbacks, meanwhile, have seen their share decrease year-over-year. The charts below detail this change in market, based on Experian’s latest 2018 quarterly findings. Source: Experian Automotive VIO as of December 31, 2018 (light duty registered vehicles only) What’s driving this growth? Across the board, the number of light-duty vehicles on the road continues to increase, up to 275.3 million in the U.S. market, at the end of 2018, compared to 271.4 million a year prior. The growth in CUVs isn’t entirely unprecedented, as it’s been going on for a number of years.  CUVs continue to grow in popularity for a variety of reasons including: Greater visibility, as the driver sits higher than in a sedan/coupe Larger storage capacities for passengers or cargo Number of varieties available, such as size, engines, and manufactures Higher fuel efficiency than a full-size SUV or minivan Currently, there are over 130 different CUV/SUV Make/Model combos offered, and of those, the different engines, options, etc. drive that volume even higher. Source: Experian Automotive VIO as of December 31, 2018 (light duty registered vehicles only) Potential for growth Currently, there are only two CUVs among the top vehicles in the aftermarket “sweet spot.” Vehicles in the sweet spot are 6 to 12 model years old, and typically aged out of general OEM warranties for any repairs. These vehicles likely require more part replacement services, which may be performed by aftermarket service shops using parts from aftermarket part manufacturers. According to Experian data, the sweet spot has stopped falling and has settled for now. But, there is expected growth of the number of vehicles that fall into the sweet spot over the coming years. One of the segments where the aftermarket industry can begin to focus on will be CUVs. Source: Experian Automotive VIO as of December 31, 2018 (light duty registered vehicles only) The aftermarket can use this data to make more informed product decisions, specifically, around the high volume of CUVs expected to come into the sweet spot. With the number of vehicle options available on the market today, CUVs will continue to stand out as a segment to watch within the auto industry. There’s a greater story beyond the numbers and understanding how to leverage the data at hand can provide the industry with a greater understanding of CUVs and its potential for even greater growth. To learn more about CUVs/SUVs and total vehicles in operation, view the full Q4 2018 Automotive Market Trends Analysis.

Whenever someone checks in for a flight, airport security needs to establish their identity. Prior to boarding the plane, passengers are required to show a government-issued ID. Agents check IDs for validity and compare the ID picture to the face of the person standing in front of them. This identity proofing is about making sure that would-be flyers really are who they claim to be. But what about online identity proofing? That’s much more challenging. Online banks certainly want to make sure they know a person’s identity before giving them access to their account. But for other online services, it’s fine to remain anonymous. The amount of risk involved in the engagement directly ties to the amount of verification and assurance needed for the individual. Government agencies care very much about identity. They won’t — and shouldn’t — issue a tax refund, provide a driver’s license or allow someone to sign up for Social Security benefits before they’re certain that the claimant’s identity is verified. Since we increasingly expect the same online user experience from government service providers as from online banks, hotel websites and retailers, this poses a challenge. How do government agencies establish a sufficient level of assurance for an online identity without sending their customers to a government office for face-to-face identity verification? To answer this challenge, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed Digital Identity Guidelines. In its latest publication, SP 800-63-3, NIST helps government agencies implement their digital services while still mitigating the identity risks that come with online service provision. The ability to safely sign up, transact and interact with a government agency online has many benefits. Applying for something like unemployment insurance online is faster, cheaper and more convenient than using paper and waiting in line at a government field office. And for government agencies themselves, providing online services means that they can improve customer satisfaction levels while reducing their costs and subsequent bureaucracy. CrossCore®, was recently recognized by the independent Kantara Initiative for its conformance with NIST’s Digital Identity Guidelines for Identity Assurance (IAL2). Our document verification solution combines authoritative sources, machine learning and facial recognition technology to identify people accurately using photo-based government identification like a driver’s license or passport. The best part? Users can verify their identity in about 60 seconds, at whatever location they prefer, using their personal smartphone.

Like every other industry, the automotive market is driven by consumer preferences and behavior. While there are a myriad of options to choose from, fuel-type seems to dominate media headlines as a hot topic of conversation among industry pundits and consumers, alike. Little surprise then that alternative fuel vehicles, which include diesels and hybrids, have maintained a steady demand over the past few years. But, there’s a specific segment that’s beginning to emerge. As we detailed in our earlier blog series, electric vehicles (EVs) are began to stand out as a prominent alternative fuel vehicle. And during Q3 2018, we saw more of the same. EVs held 1.8 percent share of total vehicle registrations. While that number may seem small, consider this.  Just two years ago, in 2016, EVs comprised only 0.5 percent of registrations, growing at a much slower pace since 2014, when it was 0.4 percent. It’s worth noting that gasoline-powered cars still dominate the market, making up 92.9 percent of registered vehicles through Q3 2018. But, the demand for alternative fuel type options should not be underestimated. Alternative fuel vehicles are becoming a significant segment in today’s auto market, and the large growth in EVs are a testament to that growth. While EVs are proving to be a popular option compared to other alternative fuel types, other options remained steady. Diesel vehicles maintained 2.8 percent of the market year-over-year, while hybrid vehicles saw a slight increase since 2017, growing from 2.6 to 2.8 percent of the market. A picture of the alternative fuel buyer So, who’s investing in these alternative fuel vehicles? We see that most buyers tend to be married, single family home owners with a college education, and belong to either the Baby Boomer generation or Gen X. It’s interesting to note that EVs make up a notable percentage of registrations of alternative fuel type preferences across generational car buyers, according to Q3 registration data. Among Baby Boomers, EVs fall second to hybrids, accounting for 1.0 percent of registered alternative fuel type vehicles compared to 1.2 percent respectively. But, EVs made up the biggest share of alternative fuel type registrations among Millennials (1.1 percent) and Gen X’ers (1.2 percent). With the number of vehicle options available on the market today, EVs stand out as a segment to watch within the auto industry. There’s a greater story beyond the numbers and understanding how to leverage the data at hand can provide the industry with a greater understanding of the EV market and its potential. To learn more about the electric vehicle market and other alternative fuel type vehicles, view the full Q3 2018 Automotive Market Trends Analysis webinar.

A closer look at the data shows GM’s losses might not be particularly significant, despite the announcement of discontinued models.

From the time we wake up to the minute our head hits the pillow, we make about 35,000 conscious and unconscious decisions a day. That’s a lot of processing in a 24-hour period. As part of that process, some decisions are intuitive: we’ve been in a situation before and know what to expect. Our minds make shortcuts to save time for the tasks that take a lot more brainpower. As for new decisions, it might take some time to adjust, weigh all the information and decide on a course of action. But after the new situation presents itself over and over again, it becomes easier and easier to process. Similarly, using traditional data is intuitive. Lenders have been using the same types of data in consumer credit worthiness decisions for decades. Throwing in a new data asset might take some getting used to. For those who are wondering whether to use alternative credit data, specifically alternative financial services (AFS) data, here are some facts to make that decision easier. In a recent webinar, Experian’s Vice President of Analytics, Michele Raneri, and Data Scientist, Clara Gharibian, shed some light on AFS data from the leading source in this data asset, Clarity Services. Here are some insights and takeaways from that event. What is Alternative Financial Services? A financial service provided outside of traditional banking institutions which include online and storefront, short-term unsecured, short-term installment, marketplace, car title and rent-to-own. As part of the digital age, many non-traditional loans are also moving online where consumers can access credit with a few clicks on a website or in an app. AFS data provides insight into each segment of thick to thin-file credit history of consumers. This data set, which holds information on more than 62 million consumers nationwide, is also meaningful and predictive, which is a direct answer to lenders who are looking for more information on the consumer. In fact, in a recent State of Alternative Credit Data whitepaper, Experian found that 60 percent of lenders report that they decline more than 5 percent of applications because they have insufficient information to make a loan decision. The implications of having more information on that 5 percent would make a measurable impact to the lender and consumer. AFS data is also meaningful and predictive. For example, inquiry data is useful in that it provides insight into the alternative financial services industry. There are also more stability indicators in this data such as number of employers, unique home phone, and zip codes. These interaction points indicate the stability or volatility of a consumer which may be helpful in decision making during the underwriting stage. AFS consumers tend to be younger and less likely to be married compared to the U.S. average and traditional credit data on File OneSM . These consumers also tend to have lower VantageScore® credit scores, lower debt, higher bad rates and much lower spend. These statistics lend themselves to seeing the emerging consumer; millennials, immigrants with little to no credit history and also those who may have been subprime or near prime consumers who are demonstrating better credit management. There also may be older consumers who may have not engaged in traditional credit history in a while or those who have hit a major life circumstance who had nowhere else to turn. Still others who have turned to nontraditional lending may have preferred the experience of online lending and did not realize that many of these trades do not impact their traditional credit file. Regardless of their individual circumstances, consumers who leverage alternative financial services have historically had one thing in common: their performance in these products did nothing to further their access to traditional, and often lower cost, sources of credit. Through Experian’s acquisition and integration of Clarity Services, the nation’s largest alternative finance credit bureau, lenders can gain access to powerful and predictive supplemental credit data that better detect risk while benefiting consumers with a more complete credit history. Alternative finance data can be used across the lending cycle from prospecting to decisioning and account review to collections. Alternative data gives lenders an expanded view of consumer behavior which enables more complete and confident lending decisions. Find out more about Experian’s alternative credit data: www.experian.com/alternativedata.

With scarce resources and limited experience available in the data science field, a majority of organizations are partnering with outside firms to fill gaps within their teams. A report compiled by Hexa Research found that the data analytics outsourcing market is set to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent between 2016 and 2024, reaching annual revenues of more than $6 billion. With data science becoming a necessity for success, outsourcing these specific skills will be the way of the future. When working with outside firms, you may be given the option between offshore and onshore resources. But how do you decide? Let’s discuss a few things you can consider. Offshore A well-known benefit of using offshore resources is lower cost. Offshore resources provide a larger pool of talent, which includes those who have specific analytical skills that are becoming rare in North America. By partnering with outside firms, you also expose your organization to global best practices by learning from external resources who have worked in different industries and locations. If a partner is investing research and development dollars into specific data science technology or new analytics innovations, you can use this knowledge and apply it to your business. With every benefit, however, there are challenges. Time zone differences and language barriers are things to consider if you’re working on a project that requires a large amount of collaboration with your existing team. Security issues need to be addressed differently when using offshore resources. Lastly, reputational risk also can be a concern for your organization. In certain cases, there may be a negative perception — both internally and externally — of moving jobs offshore, so it’s important to consider this before deciding. Onshore While offshore resources can save your organization money, there are many benefits to hiring onshore analytical resources. Many large projects require cross-functional collaboration. If collaboration is key to the projects you’re managing, onshore resources can more easily blend with your existing resources because of time zone similarities, reduced communication barriers and stronger cultural fit into your organization. In the financial services industry, there also are regulatory guidelines to consider. Offshore resources often may have the skills you’re looking for but don’t have a complete understanding of our regulatory landscape, which can lead to larger problems in the future. Hiring resources with this type of knowledge will help you conduct the analysis in a compliant manner and reduce your overall risk. All of the above Many of our clients — and we ourselves — find that an all-of-the-above approach is both effective and efficient. In certain situations, some timeline reductions can be made by having both onshore and offshore resources working on a project. Teams can include up to three different groups: Local resources who are closest to the client and the problem Resources in a nearby foreign country whose time zone overlaps with that of the local resources More analytical team members around the world whose tasks are accomplished somewhat more independently Carefully focusing on how the partnership works and how the external resources are managed is even more important than where they are located. Read 5 Secrets to Outsourcing Data Science Successfully to help you manage your relationship with your external partner. If your next project calls for experienced data scientists, Experian® can help. Our Analytics on DemandTM service provides senior-level analysts, either offshore  or onshore, who can help with analytical data science and modeling work for your organization.

Auto dealers need to move their dealerships forward through hyper-local advertising that helps them connect with the right audiences at the right time.

What if you had an opportunity to boost your credit score with a snap of your fingers? With the announcement of Experian BoostTM, this will soon be the new reality. As part of an increasingly customizable and instant consumer reality in the marketplace, Experian is innovating in the space of credit to allow consumers to contribute information to their credit profiles via access to their online bank accounts. For decades, Experian has been a leader in educating consumers on credit: what goes into a credit score, how to raise it and how to maintain it. Now, as part of our mission to be the consumer’s bureau, Experian is ushering in a new age of consumer empowerment with Boost. Through an already established and full-fledged suite of consumer products, Experian Boost is the next generation offering a free online platform that places the control in the consumers’ hands to influence their credit scores. The platform will feature a sign-in verification, during which consumers grant read-only permission for Experian Boost to connect to their online bank accounts to identify utility and telecommunications payments. After they verify their data and confirm that they want the account information added to their credit file, consumers will receive an instant updated FICO® Score. The history behind credit information spans several centuries from a group of London tailors swapping information on customers to keeping credit files on index cards being read out to subscribers over the telephone. Even with the evolution of the credit industry being very much in the digital age today, Experian Boost is a significant step forward for a credit bureau. This new capability educates the consumer on what types of payment behavior impacts their credit score while also empowering them to add information to change it. This is a big win-win for consumers and lenders alike. As Experian is taking the next big step as a traditional credit bureau, adding these data sources is a new and innovative way to help consumers gain access to the quality credit they deserve as well as promoting fair and responsible lending to the industry. Early analysis of Experian’s Boost impact on the U.S. consumer credit scores showed promising results. Here’s a snapshot of some of those findings: These statistics provide an encouraging vision into the future for all consumers, especially for those who have a limited credit history. The benefit to lenders in adding these new data points will be a more complete view on the consumer to make more informed lending decisions. Only positive payment histories will be collected through the platform and consumers can elect to remove the new data at any time. Experian Boost will be available to all credit active adults in early 2019, but consumers can visit www.experian.com/boost now to register for early access. By signing up for a free Experian membership, consumers will receive a free credit report immediately, and will be one of the first to experience the new platform. Experian Boost will apply to most leading consumer credit scores used by lenders. To learn more about the platform visit www.experian.com/boost.