Financial Services

As more and more consumers recover from the recent economic turmoil, they have a driving need to better understand how their credit situations impact their ability to make purchases and obtain services like wireless, cable television, Internet and more. Here at Experian, we recently launched a pilot program through our National Consumer Assistance Center (NCAC) to gauge consumers’ receptiveness to receiving credit education. A frustrated population The pilot program involved consumers referred to the NCAC by some of our utility clients. Like many cable, wireless and telecom customers, these people were frustrated about having to pay a security deposit to obtain service. Experian offered them a one-on-one educational session over the phone that included: An explanation of the major components of a credit report The distinction and relationship between a credit history and a credit score Definitions of negative elements on a credit history   Positive outcomes The results of the pilot program, as measured through exit surveys, were quite positive: On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, those who participated in the program scored the service as a 4.9 in terms of being helpful. 96% of respondents indicated they are “likely” or “very likely” to act on the knowledge they received and/or change how they use credit. Despite still having to pay a deposit, nearly 50% of respondents ultimately felt “positive” or “very positive” about the utility company whose actions led to their being involved in the educational session. Implications for communications companies The benefits of offering consumer credit education are far-reaching. Not only can it help you build stronger relationships with current and potential customers, it can also help your customers improve their own credit-worthiness, and thus increase their eligibility for the products you offer and decrease the need for hefty deposits. Did you know that April is Financial Literacy Month? In support of Financial Literacy Month, Experian is participating in a number of events with the JumpStart Coalition for Financial Literacy and providing education materials and resources to many different organizations that are conducting financial literacy programs around the country. We are also enhancing our consumer education web site and developing a package of credit education and mentoring services that communications companies can offer to their customers. Check back for more information on that development in future posts.

Last week I attended the Merchant Risk Council’s 2011 MRC Annual e-Commerce Payments & Risk Conference.  I presented a session titled “Efficiency and Empowerment in Risk-based Authentication” with a client who has been able to use knowledge based authentication as a sales enabler - Home Shopping Network.  You might be wondering what I mean by this.  It is actually pretty simple:  Home Shopping Network already has a fraud prevention program in place and utilizes risk based authentication to send a percentage of orders to an outsort queue.  By using knowledge based authentication to further verify the true consumer, Home Shopping Network has been able to release an increased portion of those orders for shipping, increasing both revenue and the customer experience.  The paradigm shift was thinking of knowledge based authentication as a sale enabler, rather than just a fraud tool.  It was a great experience, to help share the story of this client’s success.   If you are interested in the Merchant Risk Council:  The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) is a merchant-led trade association focused on electronic commerce risk and payments.  They lead industry networking, education, benchmarking and advocacy programs to make electronic commerce more efficient, safe and profitable. For more information on the Home Shopping Network, visit: http://www.hsn.com

By: Kristan Frend I was recently pleased to see that the state I reside in, Minnesota finished in the bottom third of a state ranking.  Luckily the rankings weren’t about overall health (#6), high school graduation (#3), or SAT scores (#2); instead it was the Federal Trade Commission’s state identity theft complaint ranks.  Minnesota has just 49.2 complaints per 100,000 population, whereas the highest ranked state, Florida, as 114.8 complaints per 100,000 population.   The top three states leading identity theft consumer complaints (per 100,000 population) included Florida, Arizona, and California.   Besides warm sunshine and top-tier golf courses, what do these three states have in common?  According to the February 2011 RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, all three rank in the top 5 states for foreclosure, and two of the three (Florida and California) rank #49 and #50 in unemployment rates, according to a March 2011 report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.    On a national level unemployment rates and identity fraud incidence rates both improved from 2009 to 2010.  From 2009 to 2010, unemployment rates went from 10.0% to 9.4% while according to Javelin’s 2010 Annual Identity Fraud Survey Report, identity fraud incidence rates fell from 4.8% to 3.5%.    While it may be inaccurate to state that economic distress causes higher rates of identity fraud, there does seem to be a natural correlation between economic downswings and fraudulent activity.   As we move further into 2011, it will be interesting to see if identity fraud incidence rates will continue to decrease as unemployment and economic outlook is on the upward swing. 

There’s no question times have been tough for consumers in the last few years due to the higher incidence of unemployment, bankruptcies, home foreclosures and increased credit balances. Unfortunately, these issues have a way of trickling down to communication companies’ collection departments, many of which are scrambling with heavier workloads and fewer resources. The key for cable, wireless, and telecom companies like yours is to prioritize your collection portfolio by first contacting the people most likely to pay. Once you’ve identified these people, your next task is to access and record any changes to their accounts, such as a new phone number or any improvements to their credit profile. But how can you get these updates without having to check their credit reports on a regular basis? Trigger program to the rescue By scrapping the usual manual skip tracing activities and using a “trigger” program, telecom industry collection staff can proactively obtain information as fresh as 24 hours old. Most trigger programs allow you to monitor any type of data, such as phone numbers, addresses, or places of employment. You can even use events, such as a change in the debtor’s financial status, to trigger an alert. This is especially helpful for cases in which your collection team has the right contact information, but the customer does not have the ability to pay. Being the first to contact the debtor when he or she again has money is crucial, because many collectors are likely competing for these funds to pay off debt. Save time, save money Most trigger program providers will monitor your portfolio for free, only charging on a per-trigger basis. Not only does this save valuable collector time, it also avoids the expense of pulling a full credit report on the consumer (and hoping that the information was recently updated). As more and more of your collection accounts become active again, and your customers’ credit improves, a trigger program helps your company be first in line to contact them for repayment. To learn more about how collection account monitoring tools can benefit your company, read our case study about how accounts receivable management firm First Financial Asset Management, Inc. was able to increase its collections by $3.5 million—a return of $72 for every $1 spent on trigger data.

Well, actually, it isn’t. The better question to ask is when to use knowledge based authentication (KBA). I know I have written before about using it as part of a risk based authentication approach to fraud account management, but I am often asked what I mean by that statement. So, I thought it might be a good idea to provide a few more details and give some examples. Basically, what I mean is this: risk segmentation based on binary verification is unwise. Binary verification can occur based on identity elements, or it can occur based on pass/fail performance from out of wallet questions, but the fact remains that the primary decisioning strategy is relying on a condition with two outcomes – verified or not verified, pass or fail – and that is unwise. When we recommend a risk based authentication approach, the view is more broadly based. We advocate using analytics and weighting many factors, including those identity elements and knowledge based authentication performance as part of an overall decision, rather than an as end-all decision. If you take this kind of approach, when might you want to use this kind of approach? The answer to that is just about any time a transaction contains a level of risk, understanding that each organization will have a unique definition and tolerance for “risk”. It could be an origination or account opening scenario, when you do not yet have a relationship with a consumer. It could be in an account management setting, when you have a relationship with the consumer and know their expected behavior (and therefore anything outside of expected behavior is risk). It could be in transactional settings where there is an exchange of money or information belonging to the consumer. All of these are appropriate uses for KBA as part of a risk based approach.

Issues that could have a major impact on how telecommunications, cable and energy companies conduct business will soon be decided, as all 50 state legislatures go into session. It’s not every year that this happens, since some state legislatures only meet biannually.Two Big Issues to Watch: Breach Notification & Employment Screenings1) Breach NotificationNow that 46 states have a breach notification law on the books, lawmakers are looking at whether those standards should be expanded. So far, at least 12 state legislatures are considering proposals.At the heart of all breach notification laws is a set of conditions, or “triggers,” that have to occur before a company is required to send out a breach notification to consumers. For most states, the requirement is based on some level of harm for consumers as a result of the breach. Some states have begun to look at those triggers and conclude that all types of breach, no matter the risk, should be report to consumers. Additionally, included in some pieces of legislation is a requirement to report all breaches, no matter the size, to the state attorney general. The concern of many in the private sector is that attorney general notification opens up new liabilities for companies, as many states will post a list of breaches on a government website, even if there is no harm to a consumer.States are also examining the types of information that should be provided to consumers as a result of a breach. For example, should consumers be notified of information such as the time, location and type of information exposed during a breached. The challenge is that all of this information would be made public, possibly creating additional risk.2) Employment ScreeningsWith a weakened economy, state legislators are looking for ways to help the unemployed find new work. As a result, lawmakers are looking into placing new restrictions on the ability of employers to conduct credit checks on prospective employees. The intention driving the discussion is to help consumers who might be negatively affected by poor credit history out of concern that the information will result in an individual’s ability to be hired.Currently, only four states have statutes that regulate an employer’s use credit history data. This year, at least fourteen states are considering their own restrictions.Why Check a Job Applicant’s Credit?Misconceptions about the content of credit reports used for employment purposes have encouraged the proposals. The result, however, of such legislation would be to remove a valuable tool from employers to evaluate and compare different candidates under consideration for a job.Since employers are held responsible for the actions of their employees, it’s only natural they take steps to protect themselves. Such measures are already regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Some legislatures may also soon expand those restrictions. The result of using credit is not fewer employees being hired, but hiring the best candidates for the job.What’s Next? Stay TunedAs most state legislatures are composed of part-time lawmakers, many will be in session only through April, but these trends will likely impact discussions at the national level. For instance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already held hearings to examine employers’ use of credit checks. And Congress is contemplating a national breach law.We’ll be monitoring future regulatory developments, so check back frequently or subscribe to keep up on these issues and others affecting your industry.

Application risk management processes for deposits has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Typically, it involves credit bureau data and a secondary check of “debit bureau” data. A “debit bureau” typically gathers information regarding known fraud and compiles a fraud database of perpetrators. Every applicant who passes the credit risk strategies is checked against this database. The challenge is that this process can be very expensive. Among a new class of fraud best practices is the idea of applying fraud models/fraud analytics as a filter upstream from the debit bureau’s fraud database. This practice enables deposit institutions to still identify known fraud and minimize fraud losses on those applicants that carry the highest risk. At the same time, costs are reduced by removing low risk accounts from the debit bureau check.    In addition to reducing costs, these revised acquisition strategies help reduce fraud referral rates while ensuring that application fraud does not increase. As deposit institutions look for ways to significantly reduce costs without suffering additional application fraud, look for the continued emergence of fraud analytics among 2011’s fraud best practices.

Consumer information is at the center of our economy. It connects us to the right products and services, helps companies innovate and expand, and allows consumers to make smarter choices throughout their lives. While the use of consumer information is becoming more important to businesses and consumers, there is a growing concern among policy makers that the laws governing consumer privacy are not keeping up. Over the last year, the FTC and the Department of Commerce have been studying these issues and each released preliminary reports looking at the changing privacy landscape. Although much of the discussion has focused on online data, the reports take a broader look at the privacy practices of organizations both online and offline, offering a number of recommendations that challenge policy makers and companies to better protect consumer information. As regulatory agencies and Congress continue to examine business practices around consumer privacy, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at recent comments Experian filed with the FTC and highlight a few areas that will be important for policy makers to consider going forward. A flexible and adaptive regulatory system is essential to an innovative economy Consumer privacy expectations are continuing to evolve and, as a result, standards must not be rigid. Along with existing regulations, new challenges should be dealt with robust and evolving self-regulation – not new laws – to ensure consumers are protected now and in the future. Consumer privacy should be viewed from multiple perspectives The recent debate around commercial information sharing has centered on consumer privacy; however there are other viewpoints that should be considered. For example, how are businesses using information in a responsible manner to innovate and increase productivity or how does the overall economy benefit from consumer information that makes us more competitive in a global marketplace.   Incorporating consumer privacy into all aspects of a business is a powerful consumer benefit The FTC report recommends a “privacy by design” framework – meaning that companies incorporate privacy into every aspect of their business operations. This framework could potentially evolve into a useful tool for companies to evaluate their privacy and data security policies. In the coming months, we’ll likely see a number of Congressional hearings as federal regulators craft a final privacy report. And in future posts, we’ll explore how the new proposals impact your business.  

By: Kari Michel In January, Experian announced the inclusion of positive rental data from its RentBureau division into the traditional credit file. This is great news for an estimated 50 million underbanked consumers - everyone from college students and recent graduates to immigrants - to build credit with continuous on-time rental payments. With approximately 1/3 of Americans renting, lenders who are using VantageScore will benefit from the inclusion of RentBureau data into the score calculation.  VantageScore from Experian is able to both enhance its predictive ability for those that can already be scored as well as provide scores for those that previously could not be scored. With the inclusion of RentBureau data, 34% of thin file consumers increased their score from an ‘F’ (VantageScore 501 – 599) to a ‘D’ (VantageScore 600 – 699). For those consumers that did not have a prior credit history, 70% of them were able to be scored after the inclusion of RentBureau data into the credit repository.  As a result, fewer consumers will get a “no hit” returned to lenders during a credit inquiry. Lenders will now have a comprehensive understanding of a consumer’s total monthly obligations to assist with offering credit to emerging consumers.

I love a good analogy, and living in Southern California, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about earthquakes, and how lenders might want to start thinking like seismologists when considering the risk levels in their portfolios. Currently, scientists that study earthquakes review mountains of data around fault movement, tidal forces, even animal behavior, all in an attempt to find a concrete predictor of ‘the big one’. Small tremors are inputs, but the focus is on predicting and preparing for the large shock and impact of large earthquakes. Credit risk modeling, conversely, seems to focus on predicting the tremors, (risk scores that predict the risk of individual default) and less so the large-shock risk to the portfolio. So what are lenders doing to forecast ‘the big one’?  Lenders are building sophisticated models that contemplate the likelihood of the big event – developing risk models and econometric models that look at loan repayment, house prices, unemployment rates – all in an attempt to be ahead of the credit version of ‘the big one’.  This type of model and perspective is at a nascent stage for many lenders, but like the issues facing the people of Southern California, preparing for the big-one is an essential part of every lender’s planning in today’s economy.

Exciting research leveraging Experian’s fraud analytics and credit risk modeling are now enabling deposit institutions to understand the impacts of first party fraud and identity theft on their portfolios. Historically, deposit institutions have not considered application fraud to be a major concern and legislation regarding overdraft fees and the opt-in provision for overdraft services will reduce a deposit customer’s ability to spend the bank’s money; however, a determined thief can still: kite checks to commit first party fraud perpetrate an account takeover/identity theft   The result is that deposit institutions will continue to face losses that can be prevented using fraud best practices. The challenge for the institution is knowing whether it is facing first party fraud or identity theft. Increasingly, deposit institutions are turning to Experian to analyze customers that create losses early in the account life cycle in order to make the right modifications to their acquisitions strategies.  Using a combination of fraud analytics built to target specific types of fraud trends, deposit institutions can get a clear picture of the type of behavior that is generating their losses. This type of analysis is quickly climbing the list of fraud best-practices. Armed with the right diagnosis, deposit institutions can respond by prioritizing the right set of fraud alerts.    

We’ve written a number of posts suggesting how telecom and cable providers can use reliable consumer credit data to improve acquisition, prospecting, retention and risk mitigation, but we haven’t yet covered collections.  So here is the first in what will probably be several collections-related entries. Please let us know what you think. What’s in your data mix? As you know, the ranks of “skips” or delinquent accounts have grown considerably over the past few years. This phenomenon has compelled many telecom and cable companies to reevaluate the quality and use of their skip tracing data. What they’ve discovered is that contact data alone—current address, previous addresses, land line and cell phone numbers—may not be enough to recover lost payments. Which brings us to the missing ingredient. Reliable consumer credit data Combining fresh contact data AND reliable consumer credit data enables you to recapture more funds from more delinquent accounts. Adding credit history to the mix broadens your view of consumers’ overall financial health, allowing you easily distinguish between those who can pay and those who can’t. What the data can reveal Assuming your consumer credit data comes from a reputable, knowledgeable source, you’ll be able to immediately learn a lot about your customers’ behaviors and circumstances, including: Attempts to open a new account while they’re still overdue with you Recently declared bankruptcies Once delinquent customers who now have the ability to pay Tying in “triggers” Some communications providers use collection tools called “triggers.” When tied to a consumer credit report, triggers alert you to new information, including cell or landline number, address, employer, or changes in financial status, such as when bankcard funds become newly available. Quality credit data + tools like triggers + a reliable data partner = a surefire recipe for collections success. Collections not your focus? Check out the post on “Using Data Intelligence to Reduce Churn, Build Loyalty and Keep the Right Customers.”

By: Kristan Frend Imagine you’re on the #1 ranked relay swim team at the World Championships and you’re leading off. You finish your leg of the race with the team in first place. As your third teammate approaches the wall, your team is in first by a full body length. You’re on pace to set a new world record. Yet the anchor of your team is nowhere to be found, ultimately resulting in your team being disqualified.   If only your fourth teammate would have made it to the blocks in time…. When you take a step back and look at your fraud risk management solutions, do you ever feel like you have all of the tools and processes available yet feel like the anchor is missing? Perhaps it’s time to reexamine your internal resources. You may have an assembly of sophisticated and robust online fraud detection tools from vendors, but you may be missing a critical piece if you’re not also effectively leveraging internal data. Through our work with clients, we’re found that it is not uncommon for organizations to manage the customer relationship through different departments or silos within the organization.   All too often there is less than optimal coordination between these functional areas in taking advantage of their own internal negative data to combat application fraud. Additionally some organizations may have negative internal data but do not incorporate the check within their verification or risk based authentication tool, creating multiple steps and operational inefficiencies. One of the ways to overcome some of these issues is by incorporating internal negative data within an automated front-end check.  Once loss data is loaded into a historical database, the next time that name, phone, address, driver’s license or SSN reappears on a new application, the data element is immediately identified as one associated with a previous loss. The negative data is securely stored for only your organization’s use and is not shared with users outside of your organization.

Let’s face it – not all knowledge based authentication (KBA) is created equal. I, too, have read horror stories of consumers forced to answer questions about a deceased relative or ex-spouse, or KBA sessions that went on far too long for anyone’s benefit. I have to attribute this to vendor inexperience and a lack of consulting with clients. An experienced vendor will use a fraud best practice such as a fraud analytics model to determine that some consumers do not even need questions and then a “Progressive Question” feature, which uses consumer performance on an initial question set to determine if it is necessary for the consumer to answer additional questions. This way, the true consumer completes the process quickly, improving the customer experience. The product of choice should also use a question mix that balances three factors: ·         how easily the true consumer can answer the question; ·         the fraud separation of the question (effectively the measured delta over time between how well true consumers answer the question vs. how well fraudsters do); ·         how many consumers overall the question can be generated.  A list of hundreds of possible questions doesn’t mean much if the questions can only be generated for one quarter of one percent of the population, as is the case for something like airplane ownership or pilot’s license. Ultimately, out of wallet questions should be generated for a large part of the population, easily answered by the true consumer but difficult for a fraudster; and not offensive or what a consumer would consider “creepy” (such as their child’s birthday or name). Well designed questions will be personal but not intrusive and mindful of personal relationships that may have changed.  The purpose of a knowledge based authentication session is risk management and/or consumer authentication for fraud prevention and compliance purposes – not to cause the loss of business because the fraud tool crossed the line in the mind of your customer.

Like all companies seeking to generate new revenue, wireless providers continually strive to expand their creditworthy universe of applicants and prospects, while shrinking or eliminating risk. Compared with other industries, however, telecom tends to have a disproportionate number of no-hit and unscorable thin files—primarily young adults and immigrants, emerging consumers, and alternative-finance transactors. The main reason is that these individuals typically acquire cell phones well before credit cards, mortgages or other loan products, and thus, fly under the radar of traditional credit scoring. Micro-segmentation—a paradox with a payoff Experian has found that, despite the lack of documented credit history, these often-ignored segments contain many potentially profitable accounts. Narrowing your focus (through targeted attributes and micro-segmentation) can actually expand your universe of prospects, creating a whole new world of opportunity that enables you to: Grow your portfolio without increasing your risk Match new customers with the appropriate deposit and payment structure Build trust, loyalty and long-term value Many companies also integrate market data, dealer data or other internal records to refine micro-segmentation efforts. Others enlist credit-reporting agencies to help combine traditional and alternative data sets to predict future performance. One or both methods can yield highly favorable results. Using high-quality information from proven, reliable sources enables wireless companies to segment information in innovative and profitable ways. In fact, when providers successfully expand their creditworthy customer universe, high-quality data is usually the bright and shining star. To learn more, read a related post about the role of data quality in effective customer acquisitions.