Experian Assistant Wins 2025 FinTech Breakthrough Award for Innovation, Empowering Businesses to Succeed 

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

When consumers apply for credit, lenders want to make the most informed decision possible. And consumers want to know they’re being considered based on a more complete financial picture that reflects where they are today.   Credit data is foundational to lending decisions, providing a proven view of how consumers have managed credit over time. But we know credit data doesn’t tell the full story for everyone, and millions of consumers face challenges accessing credit.   According to recent research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York[1],  nearly one in five consumers lacks access to mainstream credit or has damaged credit. Our own research shows 60% of consumers who’ve previously been denied credit or received less favorable terms than expected believe the outcome would’ve been different if lenders had considered their recent income and banking activity alongside their credit history.[2] Consumer-permissioned cash flow data can complement credit information with a more current view of income, expenses and financial activity. These insights can help businesses better understand consumers and approve up to 30% more applicants on average – without adjusting their risk tolerance.   But what about before a consumer applies for a financial product?  Cash flow insights can create value at many points across the consumer journey, including helping people find financial products that fit their needs and financial circumstances.  Putting cash flow insights to work earlier in the journey  We have direct relationships with more than 90 million members who come to Experian for tools and resources to help improve their financial health. As part of that experience, our members have access to Experian Marketplace, a leading consumer comparison-shopping platform for credit cards[3], personal loans[4] and auto insurance[5].  Now, we’re bringing cash flow insights directly into that experience.  With our Marketplace platform Activate, we’re bringing together credit data, advanced analytics, AI and consumer-permissioned financial information to help create more personalized offer matching so consumers can receive more offers they are qualified for that could meet their needs.  For consumers who choose to connect their bank accounts, participating lenders can incorporate our Cashflow Attributes into decisions alongside traditional credit information. This can help lenders identify consumers who may be a good fit for their products while helping consumers discover offers that better reflect where they are today.  This is an important step in how we think about the potential of cash flow data. Its value doesn’t begin and end with underwriting decisions. From helping consumers find relevant financial products to giving lenders additional information to make more informed decisions, cash flow insights can help create a more connected experience.  And Experian is uniquely positioned to bring those pieces together.   Millions of consumers trust us to help them understand and improve their financial health, while businesses rely on our data, analytics and technology to make important decisions every day. Connecting those two sides of the financial ecosystem gives us an opportunity to put cash flow insights to work in ways that can benefit both.  Building what’s next   At Experian, we’re continuing to invest in ways to make cash flow insights more actionable for businesses and more valuable for consumers. That includes expanding how we use consumer-permissioned data, developing new cash flow capabilities and finding more ways to bring these insights into the experiences where financial decisions are being made.  Ultimately, this is about helping businesses see more of the consumer and helping consumers get recognized for more of their financial story.   As we continue to expand where and how cash flow insights are used, we see significant opportunity to create more informed decisions for businesses and more relevant experiences for consumers. [1] https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/images/v5/library/community-development/household-financial-stability/2026/the-market-for-credit-building-demand-product-characteristics-and-consumer-uses [2] Methodology: Experian commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults age 18+ in the United States. The margin of error for the overall sample is +/- 2.2 percentage points with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between July 16 and July 21, 2026. [3] Results will vary. Based on FICO® Score 8 model. Offers and approvals not guaranteed. Eligibility requirements and terms apply. Application is subject to a credit check, which may impact your credit scores. Offers not available in all states. See experian.com for details. [4] Results will vary. Based on FICO® Score 8 model. Offers and approval not guaranteed. Eligibility requirements and terms apply. Application is subject to a credit check which may impact your credit scores. Offers not available in all states. Marketplace Licenses and Disclosures. [5] Results will vary and some may not see savings.