Marketing & Acquisition

According to a recent Experian analysis, millennials (ages 19–34) are now the largest segment of the U.S. population and are also the least credit savvy group.

According to the latest Experian-Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Report, mortgage originations increased 25% year over year in Q1 2015 to $316 billion.

According to a recent Experian survey, 68% of vacationers spend more money than expected when traveling, often relying on credit cards to make up the difference. Millennials rank even higher when it comes to risky vacation spending. One-third report they have not been saving up in advance of vacation, 72% say they spend more than expected when traveling, and 50% plan to use their tax refund to pay for summer travel this year. Lenders can educate consumers about the impact of utilization on credit scores and reduce loss rates by offering According to a recent Experian survey, 68% of vacationers spend more money than expected when traveling, often relying on credit cards to make up the difference. Millennials rank even higher when it comes to risky vacation spending. One-third report they have not been saving up in advance of vacation, 72% say they spend more than expected when traveling, and 50% plan to use their tax refund to pay for summer travel this year. Lenders can educate consumers about the impact of utilization on credit scores and reduce loss rates by offering personalized credit-education services.personalized credit-education services. >> Infographic: Setting a budget for summer travel

While an influx of small businesses opened during the height of the recession, a recent Experian study found that between 2010 and 2014, small-business start-ups decreased by nearly 45%.

According to a recent Experian analysis, bankcard balances increased 6% year over year to $629 billion in Q1 2015, while delinquencies remained low with 60–89 day-past-due delinquencies declining 8%.

Apple eschewed banks for a retailer focus onstage at their Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) when it spoke to payments. I sense this is an intentional shift – now that stateside, you have support from all four networks and all the major issuers – Apple understands that it needs to shift the focus on signing up more merchants, and everything we heard drove home that note. That includes Square’s support for NFC, as well as the announcements around Kohls, JCPenney and BJ’s. MasterCard's Digital Enablement Service (MDES) - opposite Visa’s Token Service - is the tokenization service that has enabled these partnerships specifically through MasterCard’s partners such as Synchrony – (former GE Capital) which brought on JCPenney, Alliance Data which brought on BJ’s, and CapitalOne which enabled Kohls. Within payments common sense questions such as: “Why isn’t NFC just another radio that transmits payment info?” or “Why aren’t retailer friendly payment choices using NFC?” have been met with contemptuous stares. As I have written umpteen times (here), payments has been a source of misalignment between merchants and banks. Thus – conversations that hinged on NFC have been a non-starter, for a merchant that views it as more than a radio – and instead, as a trojan horse for Visa/MA bearing higher costs. When Android opened up access to NFC through Host Card Emulation (HCE) and networks supported it through tokenization, merchants had a legitimate pathway to getting Private label cards on NFC. So far, very few indeed have done that (Tim Hortons is the best example). But between the top two department store chains (Macy’s and Kohls) – we have a thawing of said position, to begin to view technologies pragmatically and without morbid fear. It must be said that Google is clearly chasing Apple on the retailer front, and Apple is doing all that it can, to dig a wider moat by emphasizing privacy and transparency in its cause. It is proving to be quite effective, and Google will have to “apologize beforehand” prior to any merchant agreement – especially now that retailers have control over which wallets they want to work with – and how. This control inherits from the structures set alongside the Visa and MasterCard tokenization agreements – and retailers with co-brand/private label cards can lean on them through their bank partners. Thus, Google has to focus on two fronts – first to incentivize merchants to partner so that they bring their cards to Android Pay, while trying to navigate through the turbulence Apple has left in its wake, untangling the “customer privacy” knot. For merchants, at the end of the day, the questions that remain are about operating costs, and control. Does participation in MDES and VEDP tokenization services through bank partners, infer a higher cost for play – for private label cards? I doubt if Apple’s 15bps “skim off the top” revenue play translates to Private Label, especially when Apple’s fee is tied to “Fraud Protection” and Fraud in Private Label is non-existent due to its closed loop nature. Still – there could be an acquisitions cost, or Apple may plan a long game. Further, when you look at token issuance and lifecycle management costs, they aren’t trivial when you take in to context the size of portfolio for some of these merchants. That said, Kohls participation affords some clarity to all. Second, Merchants want to bring payments inside apps – just like they are able to do so through in-app payments in mobile, or on online. Forcing consumers through a Wallet app – is counter to that intent, and undesirable in the long scheme. Loyalty as a construct is tangled up in payments today – and merchants who have achieved a clean separation (very few) or can afford to avoid it (those with large Private label portfolios that are really ‘loyalty programs w/ payments tacked on’) – benefit for now. But soon, they will need to fold in the payment interaction in to their app, or Apple must streamline the clunky swap. The auto-prompt of rewards cards in Wallet is a good step, but that feels more like jerry rigging vs the correct approach. Wallet still feels very v1.5 from a merchant integration point of view. Wallet not Passbook. Finally, Apple branding Passbook to Wallet is a subtle and yet important step. A “bank wallet” or a “Credit Union wallet” is a misnomer. No one bank can hope to build a wallet – because my payment choices aren’t confined to a single bank. And even where banks have promoted “open wallets” and incentivized peers to participate – response has been crickets at best. On the flip side, an ecosystem player that touches more than a device, a handful of experiential services in entertainment and commerce, a million and a half apps – all with an underpinning of identity, can call itself a true wallet – because they are solving for the complete definition of that term vs pieces of what constitutes it. Thus – Google & Apple. So the re-branding while being inevitable, finds a firm footing in payments, looks toward loyalty and what lies beyond. Solving for those challenges has less to do with getting there first, but putting the right pieces in play. And Apple’s emphasis (or posturing – depending on who you listen to) on privacy has its roots in what Apple wants to become, and access, and store on our behalf. Being the custodian of a bank issued identity is one thing. Being a responsible custodian for consumer’s digital health, behavior and identity trifecta has never been entirely attempted. It requires pushing on all fronts, and a careful articulation of Apple’s purpose to the public must be preceded by the conviction found in such emphasis/posturing. Make sure to read our perspective paper to see why emerging channels call for advanced fraud identification techniques

According to the latest Experian-Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Report, HELOC originations increased 21% year over year, moving from $25.6 billion in Q1 2014 to $31 billion in Q1 2015.

Mortgage originations kicked off Q1 2015 with a 25% year over year increase to $315 billion.

According to a recent Experian Marketing Services study, informational or "thanks for joining" messages drive significantly higher open and transaction rates than promotional emails, as well as higher revenue per email.

In today's data driven world, decisioning strategies can no longer be one-dimensional and only risk-focused. By employing a multidimensional decisioning approach, companies can deliver the products and services customers need and want.

While the average bankcard utilization rate hovered around 20% during the last quarter of 2014, utilization rates can vary greatly when analyzed by VantageScore® credit score tier.

A comprehensive customer-experience strategy can give companies the competitive edge needed in a market where price, products and service can no longer be considered effective differentiators. Capturing customer insight is critical to developing a sound customer experience strategy, yet research shows that while 85 percent of companies collect such feedback, only 15 percent take action on it as part of their strategy. Delivering a consistently successful experience across all channels leads to more customers who buy more, stay longer and cost less to serve. Companies can drive value and loyalty by taking aggressive steps to develop an in-depth understanding of their customers and then plan, design and implement a structured, comprehensive customer experience program. The New Customer Experience – An Experian White Paper

According to a recent Experian credit-trend analysis, bankcard originations for all of 2014 totaled $318.7 billion, a 20 percent increase over 2013 originations of $266.5 billion. The growth trend demonstrates the importance of staying abreast of the latest credit trends in order to adjust lending strategies and capitalize on areas of opportunity. Discover key steps to developing a profitable bankcard campaign.

Understanding the importance of customer experience to business strategy and performance

This season’s peak week, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the Tuesday after Cyber Monday, had an 18 percent increase in email volume, an 11 percent rise in transactions and a 7 percent increase in email revenue in comparison to peak week 2013. Cyber Monday provided 27 percent of total peak week revenue followed by Black Friday, which accounted for 18 percent of revenue. Marketers can design more successful holiday campaigns by staying on top of the latest email trends. View the December Holiday Hot Sheet