Mortgage lenders are under constant pressure to reduce costs, improve decisioning speed, and enhance borrower experience—all while operating in one of the tightest lending environments in decades. Unfortunately, current loan origination processes often require lenders to pay more than once for the same employment record from different vendors. That is incredibly frustrating for lenders and introduces unnecessary costs and steps.
That’s exactly the challenge Experian set out to solve with the Experian Verify™ preview report, as discussed recently on the Chrisman Commentary podcast with Experian leaders Joy Mina and Ken Tromer. Listen to the conversation below.
The Hidden Cost of “Ordering Blind” Traditionally, lenders have had to order income and employment verification reports ‘blind’. By that I mean, they order VOIE reports from verifiers without knowing whether or not that verifier will return a usable employment record. If the mortgage lender needs to verify more than one employment record for a given applicant, this approach can result in:
- The lender is paying for VOIE report(s) that are not usable – those records could be inactive, for the wrong employer or a record that the lender has already verified
- Paying more than once for the same employment record if needing to order VOIE report(s) from multiple vendors
- Defaulting to higher-cost options out of habit rather than intentionally choosing them
- Prolonged loan origination timelines as the lender tries to verify all necessary employments
- Increased cost for the applicant(s) who ultimately pay for the VOIE report(s)
As Mina explains in the interview, these reflect the challenges Experian is seeking to reduce through the Experian Verify™ preview report. The current process can result in lenders and consumers paying for records that ultimately are not needed. The preview report helps mitigate this by giving lenders visibility before they buy—enabling more informed purchasing decisions and helping ensure they pay only for the information relevant to their needs.
Changing Verification Habits
According to Tromer, one of the biggest impacts of the preview report’s capability is a mindset shift.
Many lenders automatically default to a single data provider for VOIE, especially when the verification is tied to a credit report. The preview report challenges that habit. If lenders know ahead of time that Experian has the same verification record—often at a significantly lower cost—they can make a smarter, more intentional choice.
“Knowledge is power,” Tromer noted. “If you know where the record exists before you engage a vendor, you save time, money, and friction.”
Learn more about the Experian Verify preview report here.
