All posts by Scott Brown

Across financial services, conversations centered about the power of data, including insights gathered through open banking, are becoming more common – for good reasons. These insights offer a dynamic and holistic view of consumer financial health, capturing not just what has happened in the past, but how consumers are managing their money today. At Experian, we’ve always believed in the power of data to drive financial inclusion. That’s why we’ve combined the full strength of our industry-trusted credit data and alternative data assets with rich, consumer-permissioned cash flow information to create something entirely new: the Experian Credit + Cashflow Score. This innovative model harnesses the unmatched depth and quality of Experian data to deliver a more predictive, fair, and forward-looking view of creditworthiness. We’ve long believed in a future where the power of credit data is augmented by cash flow insights to drive inclusion. And with this new score, we’re taking an important step forward in making that vision a reality. Credit + Cashflow Score serves as a catalyst for a transformative shift in how lenders evaluate creditworthiness. One where innovation and inclusion move hand in hand. This is the latest example of how Experian is moving the industry toward a more connected, transparent, and equitable financial future. Bringing the Best of Credit and Cash Flow Together This is the first credit score to combine the predictive strength of consumer-permissioned cash flow data with our industry-trusted, differentiated data assets, including: Credit data, detailed credit account information on more than 220 million U.S. consumers. Trended data, providing a 24-month view of how consumers manage credit over time. Clarity Services data, the nation’s largest alternative credit bureau, expanding visibility into tens of millions of consumers who use nontraditional financial services and may otherwise lack traditional credit histories. By merging these powerful sets into a singular score, we’re helping lenders unlock a more complete and accurate understanding of consumer creditworthiness – enhancing predictive performance by over 40% when compared to conventional credit scores. Simply put, Experian Credit + Cashflow Score represents the next generation of credit scoring—bringing together the power of traditional credit data and real-time bank transaction insights to create a smarter, fairer system that works better for everyone. Powering Financial Opportunity for All The future of credit decisioning is transparent, inclusive, and powered by data that truly reflects how people live today. As we look forward to this, it’s critical we lean not just on the data itself, but on the infrastructure, trust and stewardship that support it. We are uniquely capable of meeting this moment and enabling our clients to leverage the combined power of cash flow information and differentiated data at scale to drive better consumer outcomes, expand access to credit and ultimately bring financial power to all. As lenders embrace open banking and real-time analytics, Experian is setting the standard for what’s next: responsible innovation that balances opportunity with trust.

Every day, people make responsible financial choices, including paying rent, managing bills and saving for the future. These choices are reflected in a consumer’s bank account, but in many cases, this information isn’t factored into lending decisions. If it were, these insights could help millions of consumers with limited credit histories, including those who are just starting out, new to the country or rebuilding after a setback, gain access to fair and affordable credit.   We have long recognized this gap and it’s our mission at Experian to help close it. This is why we’ve championed the use of expanded data sets, including cashflow insights, to help bring more consumers into the mainstream credit ecosystem.   As part of this, today we’ve reached an exciting milestone as we announce a new collaboration and integration with Plaid, a leading financial data network that’s used by one in two U.S. bank account holders. Together, we’re helping lenders leverage cashflow insights with speed and simplicity to assess risk more effectively and deliver better outcomes for consumers.  Through our new integration, we’re helping our clients accelerate the adoption of cashflow insights alongside our trusted, core credit data to drive faster decisions, stronger portfolios, and new financial opportunities for consumers.   Why this matters  Put yourself in the shoes of a young adult who just graduated from college and landed their first job. They’re responsible with their money, pay rent and utilities on time, and have started saving. But when they apply for their first credit card, they’re denied — not because they’re a risk, but because they don’t have enough credit history to show they’re not.   With this new integration, this consumer’s story, and countless others like it, can have a different ending.   When this consumer consents to share their bank account data during an application for a credit card, personal loan, auto loan, or other credit product, Plaid generates a Consumer Report on their behalf and securely delivers that information to Experian via a seamless integration. We analyze the information and return a Cashflow Score or predictive Cashflow Attributes, which can provide up to a 25% lift in predictive performance, to the lender in real time.   This information gives our clients a clearer, more accurate view of the applicant’s financial behavior, ultimately giving millions of consumers who are excluded from the mainstream financial ecosystem a fair shot at the credit they deserve.   Looking ahead  This collaboration is about giving consumers more control over their financial futures. It’s about helping lenders make smarter decisions. And it’s about building a system that works better for everyone.  By working with Plaid, we’re not just improving credit decisions. We’re expanding what’s possible for millions of people.  Learn more about our work with Plaid.

Today, we stand at the forefront of a digital revolution that is reshaping the financial services industry. And, against this backdrop, financial institutions are at vastly different levels of maturity; the world’s biggest banks are managing large-scale infrastructure migrations and making significant investments in AI while regional banks and credit unions are putting plans in place for modernization strategies, and fintechs are purpose-built and cloud native.  To explore this more, I recently had the privilege of attending the annual Reuters NEXT live event in New York City. The event gathers globally recognized leaders across business, finance, technology, and government to tackle some of today’s most pressing issues.  On the World Stage, I joined Del Irani, a talented anchor and broadcast journalist, to discuss the future of lending and the pivotal role of data and AI in building a more inclusive financial system. Improving financial access Our discussion highlighted the lack of access to traditional financial systems, and the impact it has on nearly 100 million people in North America alone. Globally, the problem affects over one billion people. These people, who are credit invisible, unscoreable, or have subprime credit scores, are unable to secure everyday financial products that many of us take for granted.  What many don’t realize is, this is not a fringe subset of the population. Most of us, myself included, know someone who has faced the challenges of financial exclusion. Everyday Americans, including young people who are just starting out, new immigrants and people from diverse communities, often lack access to mainstream financial products.  We discussed how traditional lending has a limited view of a consumer. Like looking through a keyhole, the lender’s understanding of the person in view is often incomplete and obstructed. However, with expanded data, technology, and advanced analytics, there is an opportunity to better understand the whole person, and as a result have a more inclusive financial system.  At Experian, we have a unique ability to connect the power of traditional credit with alternative data, bringing a more holistic understanding of consumers and their behaviors. We are dedicated to leveraging our rich history in data and our expertise in technology to create the future of credit and ultimately bring financial power to everyone. The future of lending After spending two days with over 700 industry leaders from around the world, one thing is abundantly clear: much like the early days of the internet, today, we are at the cutting-edge of a technical revolution. Reflecting on my time at Reuters NEXT, I am particularly excited by the collective commitment to drive innovative, and smarter ways of working.  We are only beginning to scratch the surface of how data and technology can transform financial services, and Experian is positioned to play a significant role. As we look to the future, I am excited about the ways we will create new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.    

The advertising ecosystem has seen significant transformation over the past few years, with increased privacy regulation, changes in available signals, and the rise of channels like connected TV and retail media. These changes are impacting the way that consumers interact with brands and how brands understand and continue to deliver relevant messages to consumers with precision.   Experian has been helping marketers navigate these changes, and as a result, our marketing data and identity solutions underpin much of today’s advertising industry. We’re committed to empowering marketers and agencies to understand and reach their target audiences, across all channels. Today, we are excited to announce our acquisition of Audigent—a leading data and activation platform in the advertising industry.   With Audigent’s combination of first-party publisher data, inventory and deep supply-side distribution relationships, publishers, big and small, can empower marketers to better understand their customers, expand the reach of their target audiences and activate those audiences across the most impactful inventory.      I am excited to bring together Audigent’s supply-side network as a natural extension to our existing demand-side capabilities. Audigent’s ability to combine inventory with targeted audiences using first-party, third-party and contextual signals provides the best of all worlds, allowing marketers to deliver campaigns centered on consumer choices, preferences, and behaviors.    The addition of Audigent further strengthens our strategy to be the premier independent provider of marketing data and identity, ultimately creating more relevant experiences for consumers.   To learn more about Experian and Audigent, visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/ and https://audigent.com/.