Experian Innovation Lab Celebrates 15 Years of Transforming Industries

I joined Experian in 1993. In more than three decades since, I’ve had a front-row seat to a remarkable evolution in how financial institutions use data and analytics to make decisions.  The technology has changed. The amount and types of data available have changed. And the speed and sophistication with which we can turn that data into insight would have been difficult to imagine when I started my career.  Through all that, one principle remains the same. Better data can lead to better decisions, and better decisions can create more opportunities for consumers and financial institutions.  That’s why today’s announcement at Experian Vision 2026 is particularly meaningful to me.  We announced Experian Cashflow Data Bureau Inc., an important new foundation for how we believe financial institutions will use data to make decisions and support consumers.  Building on the power of credit  Credit data has been foundational to the financial system, and it will continue to play that essential role. But today, we have an opportunity to see more.  For years, Experian has invested in expanded data because we believe responsibly using additional information can help lenders develop a more complete picture of a consumer and ultimately help expand fair access to credit.  That can be especially important when a traditional credit history doesn’t tell the whole story. From earning a steady income, paying bills consistently, maintaining sufficient balances and responsibly managing their day-to-day finances, a consumer may have a limited credit file but still have a rich financial life.  Consumer-permissioned cash flow information can help provide insight into those behaviors and give lenders another view into a consumer’s current financial health and capacity. This represents a very useful and meaningful signal.  This isn’t about replacing credit data. It’s about building on an incredibly powerful foundation with additional, current information that can help lenders better understand the consumers they serve.  From proving the value to putting it to work  We’ve been building toward this future for years.  Our experience with expanded data and open banking has helped us develop increasingly sophisticated ways to turn bank transaction and balance information into useful insights. We’ve introduced Cashflow Attributes and Cashflow Score for consumer and commercial lenders and, the Experian Credit + Cashflow Score, which brings consumer-permissioned cash flow insights together with Experian’s traditional credit, trended and alternative data in a single model.   Along the way, we’ve seen the conversation with our clients and partners evolve.  Increasingly, they aren’t asking us whether cash flow information can provide value. They’re asking us how to put it to work.  How do I access the information? How do I test it against my portfolio? How do I turn millions of transactions into useful insights? How do I incorporate those insights into my existing strategies? And how do I do all of that responsibly and at scale?  Those are important questions, because the next generation of lending requires more than access to another source of data.  It requires infrastructure and trust.  That’s what Experian Cashflow Data Bureau Inc. is designed to provide.  The new consumer reporting agency operates under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and serves as the enabling foundation for Experian’s broader cash flow ecosystem. It brings together capabilities spanning consumer consent and connectivity, standardized cash flow reporting, categorization, attributes and scoring, analytics and decisioning.   We’ve spent decades building the data, analytics, technology and consumer reporting expertise financial institutions depend on every day. Now, we’re applying that experience and discipline to cash flow.  The goal is to make the combined power of credit and cash flow easier to put to work, giving our clients a more complete view of consumers and the ability to turn those insights into better-informed decisions through a single, trusted provider.  This is another step toward a future where our clients can understand a more complete picture of a consumer’s financial life, make better-informed decisions and create more opportunities for people to access the financial products and services they need.  I’m excited about where we’re headed and proud that we’re continuing to build the data, technology and infrastructure to help move the industry forward.  To learn more about our cash flow capabilities and what we’re building, please visit https://www.experian.com/experian-cashflow-bureau.  

For many small businesses, the need for credit can come well before they’ve had time to build a deep credit history. A business may be growing, bringing on employees or investing in new equipment, but its credit file may still offer a limited view of its financial health. That challenge is becoming increasingly relevant as more businesses enter the market. The number of small businesses in the U.S. has increased from 30.7 million in 2019 to 36.2 million in 2026, according to Experian’s latest Commercial Pulse.¹ For lenders, that growth creates a familiar underwriting challenge. Traditional commercial credit data remains essential to assessing risk, but a limited credit history can leave lenders with fewer signals to evaluate a newer business. This can make it harder to distinguish between businesses that simply lack credit history and those that present greater credit risk. Cash flow data can help close that information gap. Permissioned business banking data provides current signals related to liquidity, revenue trends, operating expenses, debt exposure and repayment capacity. When used alongside commercial credit data, these insights can add context when the credit file alone doesn’t tell the full story. Building on what we’ve learned We’ve spent the last several years looking at how we can use cash flow insights to help more consumers access financial products and improve their financial health. And we’ve seen meaningful results. More than 19 million consumers have connected their accounts to Experian Boost or our Personal Financial Manager to improve their credit scores. And by leveraging consumer-permissioned banking information through our Cashflow Attributes and Cashflow Score, our clients can manage risk more effectively and increase fair access to credit.  More recently, we’ve integrated our Cashflow Attributes into Experian Activate, our consumer marketplace, to help connect consumers with credit offers that better reflect their financial circumstances. Extending cash flow insights to commercial lending Today, we are extending that experience to commercial lending with the launch of Experian Cashflow Attributes for commercial lenders. The solution transforms business bank transaction data into more than 500 attributes that can be incorporated into underwriting and decisioning strategies. The value is not in replacing established credit information, but in adding relevant signals when the commercial credit file does not yet tell the full story. Our preliminary analysis shows Cashflow Attributes for commercial lenders are particularly useful for businesses with thin credit files, providing up to a 24% lift in predictive performance when paired with traditional commercial credit data. As more new businesses enter the market, combining commercial credit and cash flow insights can help lenders assess risk with greater context, refine underwriting strategies and identify opportunities to extend credit responsibly. This is a meaningful next step in our commitment to helping the industry put cash flow insights to work at scale. And there is more ahead. As cash flow insights become a more integral part of financial services, we see significant potential to apply them in new ways, helping financial institutions make more informed decisions and expand financial opportunities for the consumers and businesses they serve. To learn more about Experian Cashflow Attributes for commercial lenders, please visit https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929177531/en. [1] Experian, “More Businesses, New Risk Signals: Rethinking Small Business Credit,” August 24, 2026.

I’m often asked what drives innovation at a company like ours. People might expect the answer to be technology, data or artificial intelligence. While there’s no question these things matter, I believe innovation often starts with something much simpler: listening. Several years ago, our clients came to us expressing frustration. As verification became increasingly important across mortgage lending, tenant screening, financial services and employment screening, they felt constrained by legacy solutions and limited trustworthy alternatives and wanted our help. We also saw this as an opportunity to help broaden financial access for consumers by creating a more modern, complete picture of their financial health. We recognized the road ahead would not be easy, but few things worth pursuing are. In 2021, we responded to this market demand by launching Experian Verify, designed from day one to give the industry a secure, automated alternative to verify income and employment in real time. Today, that journey reaches an important new milestone as we announce a new integration with Workday, the enterprise AI platform for HR, finance and IT. By partnering with Workday, we’re significantly expanding the real-time income and employment information that can be accessed through Experian Verify™. The integration comes as we continue to expand the Experian Verify network through a combination of payroll provider integrations and employer-direct connections, with a path to more than 80 million records, representing over half of U.S. payroll employees.[1] Why does this matter? There are moments when speed and simplicity matter more than others. Right now, across mortgage lending, tenant screening, financial services and employment screening, organizations continue to navigate affordability challenges, evolving market conditions and increasing pressure to deliver faster, more efficient experiences for consumers. At the same time, behind every verification request is a person trying to move forward. Buying a home. Financing a car. Leasing an apartment. Starting a new job. Every request for documentation or manual verification process creates friction during some of life’s biggest financial moments. By expanding access to real-time income and employment data, millions more consumers can move through these moments with less paperwork, faster decisions and a better overall experience. Not only that, when verified income and employment information is available instantly, businesses can reduce reliance on manual verification processes that often require additional documentation, slow down HR teams and delay approvals. Ultimately, it means the system can move better, faster and smarter. For everyone. Created a more connected verification ecosystem This collaboration with Workday also shows what’s possible when organizations are willing to challenge conventions and work together to solve problems in new ways. By integrating with Experian Verify, Workday customers will gain greater choice and flexibility in how they fulfill employment and income verification requests. There is tremendous opportunity to continue expanding access to trusted verification data to simplify experiences for consumers and businesses and create even more choice across our industry. Workday’s commitment to helping create a more connected verification ecosystem is something I deeply admire, and I hope this milestone encourages others across our industry to think similarly. Meaningful progress happens when organizations listen, challenge conventions and build together. As we said when we launched Experian Verify, we entered this space with a long-term commitment to employers and the broader verification ecosystem. We knew meaningful change wouldn’t happen overnight. We’ve made significant progress, and while the journey is far from over, each milestone reinforces our commitment to building partnerships that expand choice, improve access, and deliver greater innovation to the market. To learn more about our new integration with Workday please visit: https://www.experianplc.com/newsroom/workday [1] According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment was approximately 159.1 million in August 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm