Experian and eBureau Partner to Offer New Credit Scoring Tool
Experian and eBureau Partner to Offer New Credit Scoring Tool
March 11, 2008– COSTA MESA, Calif. and ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Experian, a global information services company, and eBureau, an innovative provider of predictive scoring and information solutions, today announced a partnership and the launch of the Emerging Credit Score(SM), a new credit scoring tool to assist lenders in evaluating the credit worthiness of unbanked and underbanked consumers.
The partnership is part of Experian’s pioneering initiatives to provide lenders with advanced, accurate and cost-effective tools for evaluating the financial risk of new and emerging consumer segments.
“The unbanked and underbanked consumer population presents an expanding market opportunity for financial services institutions, particularly in today’s economic environment,” said Zaydoon H. Munir, senior vice president, Experian. “Our goal has always been two-fold; to help underbanked consumers get the credit and affordable financial services they deserve, and provide our clients that serve these consumers with the best risk management tools. Utilizing this groundbreaking new scoring method, lenders can now effectively – and equitably- lend to this population and grow their customer base.”
“eBureau is excited to partner with Experian on the development and implementation of the Emerging Credit Score, an alternative credit score for thin-file and no-file consumers,” said Mark Doman, executive vice president, eBureau. “Our next generation technology provides Experian and its financial service customers with a powerful new scoring tool to profitably serve a number of growing, underserved consumer segments.”
Through the partnership, the Emerging Credit Score will rely on the aggregation of Experian’s traditional credit data and eBureau’s alternative consumer credit, payment and identity data. Using eBureau’s eScore technology, the score will evaluate the purchase and payment histories of consumers with little or no credit history, providing an increasingly granular view of the thin file and no-file consumer segment. By scoring a higher percentage of consumers, the Emerging Credit Score helps credit grantors grow their client base by effectively qualifying more prospects within this underserved population.
According to recent statistics released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), there are an estimated 28 million no-file and 44.7 million thin file consumers in the United States, representing 19.4 percent of all households. These combined populations earn approximately 1.1 trillion in annual income, with underserved individuals accounting for nearly half of that total.
The Emerging Credit Score is the first solution in the market addressing the underserved consumer that couples alternative data with the breadth and quality of Experian’s traditional credit data. Experian’s delivery approach distinctly offers an integrated solution which eases implementation and minimizes operational impact on clients’ existing systems and decisioning processes. Clients can rely on Experian to support their growth strategies in a disciplined fashion giving them a more holistic perspective of a consumer’s financial relationships. In effect, this highly-predictive risk score optimizes the ability to effectively expand the universe of underserved applicants and prospects as these consumers gain momentum in their pursuit of affordable financial services.
About Experian
Experian is a global leader in providing information, analytical, and marketing services to organizations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions. Combining its unique information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and economies, Experian partners with organizations around the world to establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their businesses with competitive advantage. For consumers, Experian delivers critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include organizations from financial services, retail and catalog, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure, e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors. Experian Group Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Nottingham, U.K. Experian employs approximately 15,500 people in 36 countries worldwide, supporting clients in more than 65 countries. Annual sales are in excess of $3.8 billion. For more information, please visit http://www.experiangroup.com.
About eBureau
eBureau provides a powerful suite of online marketing and lead generation, credit risk management, fraud prevention, and collections and recovery scoring and information solutions to industry-leading multichannel marketers, financial services companies, online advertisers, and agencies. Founded in 2004, eBureau has designed and built a patent-pending, state-of-the-art data warehouse and real-time predictive scoring system. The company is headquartered in St. Cloud, Minn., and has received $28 million in funding from its founders, Split Rock Partners, and Redpoint Ventures. For more information, please visit http://www.ebureau.com..
Media Contacts:
Keith R. Pillow
Abelson Group for eBureau
(805) 389-1815
keith@abelsongroup.com
Jeff Liebl
VP of Marketing, eBureau
(320) 534-5133
jeffliebl@ebureau.com
Susie Henson
Director of PR, Experian
(714) 830-5129
susan.henson@experian.com
Experian and the marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
