To trust or not to trust is the ultimate question when it comes to online, card not present transactions. For e-commerce merchants and online shoppers it should be a two-way street. But far too often, a customer who should be trusted has a transaction wrongfully declined. This tarnishes their relationship with the merchant, the bank and the credit-card company, resulting in loss of revenues, interchange fees and most importantly, lifetime loyalty. The impact of consumer action in the face of a decline can have real and measurable effects on all parties, including credit card companies, banks and merchants manifesting itself in lost revenues, lost fees and lost customer loyalty. In fact, in a recently commissioned independent survey by 41st Parameter, a part of Experian, 17% of consumers surveyed had an online transaction declined. That equals about $40 billion lost each year due to false positives… $40 billion that could be reclaimed.

Increasingly Experian’s clients are questioning whether they are extracting full value from their data. There’s more data, more accessible analytic capability – there should be more value created. But this growing information asset needs to be harnessed by targeting it in the right way (generating the right insights) and having the processes to minimize the time from insight to action. Technology and techniques need to be aligned to efficiently capture, analyze and action customer insight in a concerted way, with the customer view at the center of this activity. Understanding customers’ current circumstances, and the challenges & opportunities they are likely to encounter, can help us establish what they need right now and predict their future needs. Identifying life event triggers, and effectively actioning these triggers, can help us ensure that we’re maximizing the customer’s lifetime value with the right communications, with the right content, at the right time.

Gone are the days when news of a data breach was shocking. Today they have become all too common an occurrence. One of the most concerning issues around breaches is that many consumers’ digital identities are based on a single email address or username/password. With stolen identity data in hand, criminals can submit fraudulent mortgages, credit card applications, even create fake credit cards, in the names of thousands of unsuspecting victims. Regardless of how the data is used, one thing is certain: breaches pose serious dangers to consumers, retailers and financial institutions. The need for customer-friendly fraud management is stronger than ever. A single layer of protection is simply ineffective as criminals are more efficient than ever in obtaining consumer identification details and compromising simple access credentials. While mobile technologies and the Internet itself have enabled consumers to have anytime access to their financial data, these advances are the very means by which criminals perpetrate fraud. And customer-friendly technologies and policies continue to outpace the controls and risk management.

For small business owners, the bumpy ride continues. Not that things aren’t getting better; they are. Or at least, when you take a step back from the monthly assessments of small business optimism, and observe the trend lines over the last couple of years. But It’s the up and down, uneven nature of the monthly reporting that gives you this picture of a “she loves me, she loves me not” world small business owners must be living in. At least life isn’t boring. From a lenders perspective, it may not be quite so erratic. The larger small businesses are providing good opportunities for lenders to provide new financing. Demand is growing, and that is a good thing. In addition, new forms of financing are growing in popularity. Alternative lenders are providing direct financing to small business owners, and providing competition for more traditional banks. Credit cards are being embraced more and more by small business owners, and provide some nice fringe benefits to owners. Extending payments, rewards programs, and just plain old convenience are among the benefits small business owners can enjoy by paying their vendors with a credit card. Not a bad way to go!

In the early 1970’s a brilliant engineer/inventor/music lover designed a credit card sized electronic music player.  Early prototypes and models of this small music player received the accolades of “the most radical music system ever” from the audio industry.  Many of you may think I am talking about Steve Jobs – well I am not.  This inventor however was distracted, did not pay attention to the business and saw the technology get away from him.  And that is why today, Jobs and Apple’s 1.75 billion iPods are a household name and Kane Kramer is not. So the question for you today is…are you keeping your eye on the technology, trends, and market place that will make your commercial lending efforts successful and sustainable? In a CEB TowerGroup survey, bank executives clearly called out that maximizing credit applications with quality growth is the top priority for 2014. To be successful in achieving that growth commercial bankers will be focused in 2014 and beyond on these five key areas: (1) Rationalizing infrastructure, (2) Optimizing sourcing, (3) Centralizing risk management, (4) Enhancing liquidity management, and (5) Implementing commercial loan management solutions.  To back that claim, in the 2013 Sales Readiness Assessment, CEB TowerGroup found that banks that are taking these steps to lead in technology changes were seeing an increase of 8% in their top performing relationship managers, and a 13% increase overall. And while growth is critical, we cannot take our eye off the existing portfolio.  Best practices suggest that to make the most impact in 2014, institutions should in the next 90 days to take steps to look at their individual loans, but with multiple factors, e.g. duration, convexity, and yield.  But even more important banks should aggregate these views to a portfolio level to make sure that can optimize returns overall. So while we see that in commercial lending the 3-year CAGR is now 10.5% and looking stronger, banks need to focus and not be distracted and capitalize on these opportunities.  Invest and stay focused on the future! Vision 2014: The new world of commercial lending from Experian Business Information Services Tweet this! Not focusing on #innovation & change can cost you. Kramer designed IXI in the 70's.  But #apple gained with 1.7 B #ipod sold. #vision2014 Click to Tweet This At @ExperianVision and Joanne Pollitt from CEB Tower Group talking about #change in cmcl #banking for 2014.  Are you ready?  @ExperianVision  Click to Tweet This What is your #banks top #commercial #banking #initiative for 2014?? How can @Experian_DA_GCP and @Experian_US help you  #succeedandproceed  Click to Tweet This  

4000! Consumers view over 4000 ads per day. As a result they are overwhelmed with information and opt not to see what could be waiting for them. The best way to grab the consumer’s attention and CLOSE the sale is to target them with content directly related to their interests. This is not an easy task, but Experian can help lenders stay above the noise and drive relevant traffic to their websites. We can turn a site visit into a credit qualified lead and ultimately a high-quality booked account – cutting through the “junk” that drags down your portfolio’s performance.

The amount of data being generated nowadays is staggering. In fact, according to one source, more data has been produced in the past two years than ever before. Certainly Experian has made it our business to understand all of this data and how to harness it. I’ve recently had the opportunity to consider the impact of data in Formula 1 Racing, the most prestigious and high-tech racing series on the planet. Experian is a sponsor of Williams Martini Racing, which is one of the “big four” teams in the sport and has produced 16 Formula One World Championship titles.

Debt is often thought of as a scary word and many spend their lives trying to avoid it at all costs. Understanding what credit is, why you need it and how to build it can help make it less frightening and can actually put you in control. Debt doesn’t have to be a four-letter word. To wrap up Financial Literacy Month, Experian released a study this week that takes an in depth look at debt and credit scores in the 20 largest cities across the U.S. and compares the numbers to where these cities were four years ago. The findings show that Detroit residents have the least amount of debt, while the residents of Dallas have the most.

Did you know children are increasingly vulnerable to being a victim of identity theft? Their clean credit history is an easy target for perpetrators. Thieves often can profit for years before the crime is detected. In general, minors should not have credit activity or a credit report until they apply for loans or a credit card. That said, it is possible that they may have a credit history if you have added them as an authorized user to your credit accounts during their teen years.

Experian-Oliver Wyman data reports a 46 percent increase in home equity lending; 19 percent increase in bankcard origination volume Costa Mesa, Calif., April 30, 2014 — Experian®, the leading global information services company, today released year-end analysis of credit and mortgage trends from the 2013 Q4 Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Report that showed positive economic indicators along with smarter consumer spending. “Overall from 2013 we saw a strong steady improvement in the economy similar to our 2012 year-end review. Consumer confidence increased as they continue to be resilient during the ongoing recovery,” said Linda Haran, senior director of product management and strategy for Experian Decision Analytics. “While overall consumer debt increased 6 percent, it was not heavily weighted in one particular VantageScore segment.  Debt increases occurred across all VantageScore consumer segments equating to a balanced distribution of increases in total debt year-over-year. That represents smarter spending among all consumers.” “Other positive indicators coming out of 2013 include bankruptcies declining 12 percent from 2012 and consumer delinquency trends continuing to decrease. Home Equity originations realized strong growth in 2013, exceeding 2009 levels as new lending was up 42 percent in Q4 2013 over the same period a year ago.” Watch Experian Decision Analytics analysts Linda Haran and Alan Ikemura discuss the latest trends from the Experian-Oliver Wyman Q4 2013 report on consumer debt, bankcards, mortgages and auto. 2013 Mortgage trends included: Overall mortgage origination volume in 2013 was $2 trillion up from $1.9 trillion in 2012 2013 saw annual growth of 25% in new home purchase volume compared to 2012 Overall mortgage 30+ day mortgage delinquency rates were down 14 percent in 2013 versus 2012 The West region saw 30+ day mortgage delinquency rates drop 23 percent in 2013 versus 2012. California saw a 24 percent decline in late mortgage payments. 2013 Bankcard trends included: Analyzing the data for 2013 shows a 19 percent increase in bankcard origination volume, growing from $228 billion to $271 billion year over year. Two-thirds of new bankcard originations occurred among the Super Prime (781 – 850) and Prime (661-780) VantageScore tiers. The U.S. 60+ day delinquency bankcard rates overall improved 14.5 percent in Q4 2013 versus Q4 2012. All 50 states saw bankcard delinquency rates improve for the 60+ day category. California, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin were the top 5 states that improved their 60+ day delinquency bankcard rates in Q4 2013. Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas, West Virginia and Alaska were the bottom 5 states in terms of overall percentage improvement among 60+ day delinquency bankcard rates in Q4 2013. Experian has dedicated educational resources to help consumers understand the impact debt has on credit. Consumers can visit our Live Credit Smart website to learn more. For more insight from Experian Decision Analytics, watch our 2013 Q4 Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Report presentation: http://ex.pn/1eJaRZB. Make sure to join us for Q1 2014 Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Report webinar. About the data The data for this insight and analysis was provided by Experian’s IntelliViewSM product. IntelliView data is sourced from the information that supports the Experian–Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Reports and is easily accessed through an intuitive, online graphical user interface, which enables financial professionals to extract key findings from the data and integrate them into their business strategies. This unique data asset does this by delivering market intelligence on consumer credit behavior within specific lending categories and geographic regions.

Experian is in final preparations for our upcoming Vision Conference, taking place May 4-7 in Dallas, Texas at the OMNI Hotel. This year’s theme “Quality Growth – Defining New Strategies” is supported consistently throughout our event agenda starting with an impressive group of speakers in our general session including President Bill Clinton, Chief Investment Strategist James W. Paulsen Ph.D. and Heisman Trophy winner, Super Bowl MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer and Executive Chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Roger Staubach.

In honor of Earth Day, Experian Automotive released findings from an analysis comparing electric and hybrid* vehicles. Findings from the analysis showed that in 2013, more than 45 percent of hybrid car buyers were 56 years old or older, while roughly 26 percent of electric car buyers were of the same age. The greater percentage (55 percent) of electric buyers were between the ages of 36 years old and 55 years old. Additionally, nearly 21 percent of consumers purchasing an electric car had an average household income of $175,000 or more. Conversely, only 12 percent of consumers purchasing a hybrid had an average household income of the same level.