Experian Innovation Lab Celebrates 15 Years of Transforming Industries

Trust begins with knowing who you’re doing business with. In financial services, trust depends on identity verification, protecting people and institutions from fraud while enabling seamless digital experiences. Experian has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Identity Verification in Financial Services 2025 Vendor Assessment (doc #US52985325, September 2025). We believe this recognition reflects years of innovation in data, analytics, and AI to make digital trust simpler and more secure. Rethinking Verification for a Digital World Identity verification has evolved beyond static data checks. Today, it means interpreting signals across systems in real time. Financial institutions must prevent fraud without slowing legitimate customers, and Experian’s Ascend Platform™ helps strike that balance. It unites diverse data sources with intelligent analytics and decisioning tools so organizations can confidently verify identities. “We’re constantly listening to clients and evolving our capabilities, integrating AI, behavioral analytics, and new approaches like ‘know your agent’ to stay ahead of emerging risks,” said Keith Little, President of Experian Software Solutions. From Data to Confidence Experian was recognized for the following strengths: Access to a broad and diverse range of proprietary identity and credit data sources enables multilayered verification across different financial services use cases. The platform incorporates risk-based authentication, progressive onboarding, and behavioral analytics that enable fraud detection with reduced friction. NeuroID integration expands capabilities in behavioral monitoring, including detection of fraud rings and bot behavior during digital onboarding. “Experian demonstrates strength in identity verification by combining broad data assets with scalable workflows,” said Sam Abadir, Research Director for IDC Financial Insights. “This offers financial institutions both the consistency required for compliance and fraud prevention, and the dynamism needed to adapt to evolving customer expectations.” Building the Future of Digital Trust The landscape of identity verification is constantly shifting as regulations tighten and fraud tactics evolve.  We lead by transforming vast data into actionable intelligence that protects people, strengthens businesses, and fosters trust. Experian’s identity verification offering is tackling the challenges of today, but equally important is our commitment to staying ahead of what’s next. To learn more. click here: Financial Services 2025 Vendor Assessment. 

Whether it’s pursuing homeownership, purchasing a family car, renting an apartment, or simply trying to secure everyday financial products, recent industry conversations have put a spotlight on the indispensable role data plays in driving smart decisions and improving access to credit.  In my role, I have the unique opportunity to demonstrate how data, including cash flow insights, can drive meaningful progress towards financial inclusion. At Experian, we believe these insights represent the next great evolution in credit.   Cash flow data is transforming how we understand consumer behavior, assess risk and open doors for consumers who have been historically left out of the mainstream financial ecosystem.  While cash flow insights are becoming central to the future of credit, it’s critical we lean not just on the data itself, but on the infrastructure, trust and stewardship that support it.   Our Commitment to Open Banking and Cash Flow Innovation    Experian has been leading open banking solutions internationally for over a decade and we’ve been building cash flow-based solutions in the U.S. for more than eight years. We are the only credit reporting agency offering both traditional credit scores and cash flow-based scoring solutions developed in-house. This unmatched vantage point allows us to uniquely understand how cash flow analytics, when leveraged with traditional credit data, can reveal a more complete picture of consumer financial health and help lenders distinguish between risk and resilience with greater precision.  Our cash flow-based solutions are designed to power smarter, more inclusive credit decisions across a variety of credit products and industries, including credit cards, personal loans, auto, housing and more.  For example, our Cashflow Score and Cashflow Attributes deliver up to a 25% lift in predictive performance when compared to conventional credit scores, while improving financial access for consumers historically left behind. In addition, our research shows that leveraging cash flow insights in the mortgage space results in a 35% increase in model accuracy and risk differentiation, underscoring its potential to transform credit evaluation in the housing industry.   These solutions are exclusive to Experian and powered by our Categorization Engine – a dynamic, machine learning model that processes approximately 30 million transactions every day with remarkable accuracy. And because the system learns continuously, it grows more intelligent and more precise with every interaction.   Infrastructure, Trust, and Scale  Our ability to help lenders use these insights at scale is grounded in our unmatched expertise and infrastructure. We’ve built one of the most sophisticated and secure data ecosystems in the world, underpinned by decades of responsible data stewardship. That foundation allows us to deliver new cash flow innovations to fintechs, credit unions, mortgage lenders and resellers, as well as large banks with confidence and integrity.  Our data science teams are among the most sophisticated in the industry, with deep expertise in developing predictive models and scores that power billions of lending decisions globally.  We know what it takes to translate data into meaningful, actionable insights that help lenders of all sizes make confident, fair and inclusive decisions, including tailoring their offerings and delivering the right products and services to consumers at the right time.   Leading the Industry Forward  Cash flow insights are a catalyst for a complete, inclusive view of financial health. And realizing that promise requires the right foundation: trusted data, powerful infrastructure, rigorous analytics, and the scale to make it work.  We have long served as a trusted backbone of the credit ecosystem, operating with governance, transparency, and accountability at our core. That same commitment extends to our work in cash flow analytics today.  As the industry embraces this new frontier, we are uniquely positioned to lead and help our clients turn these insights into action, enabling them to deepen customer relationships, tailor offerings to evolving needs, and ultimately empower more consumers to achieve meaningful financial milestones.  To learn more about Experian’s suite of cash flow-based solutions, please visit: https://www.experian.com/business/products/cashflow-score

Agentic AI is no longer a future concept. It is here today, transforming how businesses operate. At Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Park City, I joined leaders from Salesforce, Okta, and Zillow to discuss this market shift. The takeaway was clear: agentic AI is not a trend. It is a catalyst for lasting change. At Experian, we see it as a force to unlock opportunity, spark innovation, and most important, build trust. People First Our leadership in AI starts with our people. Experian was recently named one of Fortune’s Top 10 Best Workplaces in Technology. That recognition reflects a culture built on curiosity, fostering innovation, inclusion, and collaboration. It is this culture that drives us to create technology with real impact, to help solve our customers’ needs. In our innovation labs, I see this spirit every day. AI agents open new opportunities, but they also bring challenges around identity, privacy, and fraud. That is why Experian’s role is to serve as the trusted backbone of this new era, ensuring AI remains explainable, transparent, non-biased, and secure. Responsible innovation is not optional. It is our standard. Experian Assistant: A First Step Toward the Future Experian has more than a decade of experience working with AI, applying advanced analytics and machine learning across industries to help businesses and consumers make smarter decisions. That expertise has prepared us to take the next step forward. A powerful example is our Experian Assistant, the first conversational, AI-driven virtual assistant in our industry to deliver continuous analytics and decisioning support. Integrated into our Ascend platform, it helps teams move faster, improve compliance, accelerate time-to-market, and make smarter decisions. This is only the beginning. Experian Assistant lays the foundation for what comes next: a future where AI agents do not simply operate individually but connect, collaborate, and fulfill, all compliantly. These networks of AI agents can amplify human intelligence while safeguarding trust. Building Confidence amid Change At Experian, we are shaping the future of AI responsibly and with purpose. By combining a spirit of innovating with a people-first culture, we deliver solutions that are secure, transparent, and transformative. With innovations like Experian Assistant leading the way, we will help our customers embrace change today while preparing for the trusted agentic-AI networks of tomorrow.