Time – it’s the only resource we can’t get more of, which is why we tend to obsess over saving it. Despite this obsession, it can be hard for us to identify time-wasting activities. From morning habits to credit decisioning, processes and routines that seem, well, routine, can get in the way of maximizing how we use our time.
Identifying the Problem
Every morning, I used to turn on my coffee maker, walk to the bathroom to take my multivitamin, then walk back into the kitchen to finish making my coffee. This required maybe twenty steps to the bathroom and twenty steps back, and while this isn’t a huge amount of time—half a minute at best—it’s not insignificant, especially in the morning when time feels particularly precious. One day, I realized I could eliminate the waste by moving my multivitamin to the cabinet above my coffeemaker.
What if we could all make minor changes to enhance our efficiency both at home and at work? Imagine how much time we could save by cutting out unnecessary steps. And how saving that time could help drive significant revenue increases.
Time Equals Money
When businesses waste time with unnecessary steps, that’s money from their bottom line, and out of the pockets of people who are connected to them. Over the last several years, a new time saver has emerged – Application Programming Interface (API). APIs allow application programs to communicate with other operating systems or control programs through a series of server requests or API calls, enabling seamless interaction, data sharing and decisioning. Experian’s partners utilize our ever-growing suite of APIs to quickly access better data, making existing processes more effective and routines more efficient.
In the past, banks and other partners had to send files back and forth to Experian when they needed decisioning on a customer’s credit-worthiness prior to approving a new loan or extending a credit limit increase. Now, partners can have their origination system call an Experian API and send their data through that. Our system processes it and sends it back in milliseconds, giving the lenders real-time decisioning rather than shuttling information back and forth unnecessarily.
Instead of effectively walking away from one process (assisting the customer/making coffee) to start another (retrieving credit info/walking down the hall to take the multivitamin), our partners are able to link these processes up and save time, allowing them to capitalize on the presence and interest of their customer.
The Proof
When Washington State Employees Credit Union, the second-largest credit union in the state, realized they needed to make a change to keep pace with increasing competition, they turned to Experian.
With our solution, the credit union is now able to provide its members with instant credit decisioning through their online banking platform. This real-time decisioning at the point of member-initiated contact increased the credit union’s loan and credit applications by 25%. Additionally, member satisfaction increased, with 90% of members finding the simplified prequalification process to be more efficient.
By accessing Experian’s decisioning services through your existing connection, lenders can to save time and match consumers with the products that match their credit profile before they apply – increasing approval rates once the application is submitted. Best of all, the entire process with the consumers is completed within seconds.
Find out how Experian’s solutions can help you improve your existing processes and cut out unnecessary steps.
