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Financial identity theft is one of the biggest threats to a consumer’s financial wellness in today’s digital age.1 It occurs when someone steals their personal and financial information, such as their name, address, Social Security Number (SSN), credit card, or bank account numbers, and uses it to make unauthorized purchases or access their financial accounts without their permission. This can severely damage their credit score and financial standing, often taking significant time and effort to resolve. Financial identity theft can also harm organizations, taking a toll on bottom lines due to lost employee productivity and more severe consequences if the stolen identity exposes the organization to a data breach.   How financial identity theft happens  Financial identity theft can occur through various methods, including:  Skimming: Thieves use skimming devices at ATM machines or gas pumps to steal credit or debit card information. These devices can be hard to detect, making it easy for thieves to capture card details without the owner's knowledge.  Phishing: Scammers send emails or text messages that appear to be from a bank or other financial institution, asking for personal information. These messages often look legitimate, tricking consumers into providing sensitive data.  Social engineering: Thieves impersonate someone in authority to trick consumers into giving them their personal or financial information. This can happen over the phone, in person, or through digital communication.  Data breaches: Hackers gain access to large databases of personal and financial information through breaches at companies or organizations. This stolen data can then be sold or used to commit identity theft.  Stealing mail: Thieves steal mail from mailboxes or trash cans to obtain personal financial information. This can include bank statements, credit card offers, and other documents containing sensitive data.  Account takeover: Thieves use stolen personal information to access existing financial accounts. They can change account details, make unauthorized transactions, and even open new accounts, causing significant financial damage.  Protecting consumers from financial identity theft  Organizations play a crucial role in protecting their consumers from financial identity theft. A few strategies that organizations and financial institutions can implement to protect their customers include:  Implement strong authentication methods: Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security. This requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to their accounts, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.  Educate consumers: Offer services to educate consumers about the risks of identity theft and provide tips on protecting their personal information. This includes advising them to use strong, unique passwords and to be cautious of phishing scams.   Monitor for suspicious activity: Use advanced monitoring systems to detect unusual activity in consumer accounts. This can help identify potential fraud early, ensuring that any threats are addressed before they cause significant harm.  Provide identity theft protection services: Offer services that monitor consumers' credit reports and alert them to suspicious activity. These services provide continuous oversight, helping consumers stay informed and protected against potential identity theft.  Why prioritizing financial wellness matters  Investing in your customers' financial wellness not only benefits them but also brings significant advantages to your organization. Some key benefits of helping your customers improve their financial wellness include:  Increased customer loyalty: Investing in your customers' financial wellness builds trust and strengthens your relationship, leading to higher customer retention and loyalty.  Reduced customer delinquency: Educating your customers on financial management can lead to fewer missed payments and defaults, reducing your risk and improving overall financial stability.  Higher customer engagement: Providing financial wellness resources and tools encourages your customers to engage more frequently with your organization, fostering a deeper connection.  Competitive advantage: Offering financial wellness programs can differentiate you from your competitors, making you more attractive to potential customers who value financial education and support.  Positive social impact: By helping your customers improve their financial health, you contribute to the overall economic well-being of the community, creating a positive social impact.  Reduced risk of data breach: Compromised employee credentials are one of the most common gateways for data breaches. By educating consumers on protecting their financial well-being, you also protect your organization from data breach threats.   Experian Partner Solutions: Protecting your customers   We offer a range of tools to help you support your customers on their financial wellness journey and defend against bad actors. With our partnership, you can offer your customers access to:  Credit and identity monitoring and alerts: Keep consumers engaged with reliable credit tools that monitor their credit reports and personal information to alert them of potential threats, such as dark web exposure or suspicious activity. Our advanced monitoring systems provide real-time alerts, helping your consumers take immediate action to protect their financial health.  Identity restoration: Provide peace of mind by helping your consumers reclaim their identity if they fall victim to identity theft. Our dedicated identity restoration specialists guide consumers through recovery, ensuring they regain control of their financial identity quickly and efficiently.  Data breach resolution: Manage consumer data breach and crisis incidents confidently, helping to mitigate the impact on affected individuals. We offer comprehensive breach response services, including notification, monitoring, and support, to help organizations handle breaches effectively and maintain consumer trust.  Credit education: Empower consumers with the knowledge and tools to understand and improve their credit health, building customer loyalty and supporting their journey towards better financial wellness. Our educational resources and personalized advice enable consumers to make informed financial decisions and achieve their financial goals.  Protecting against financial identity theft requires a collaborative effort between consumers and organizations. By partnering with us, you can offer comprehensive financial and identity protection solutions that engage, educate, and empower your customers to better manage their financial lives. This not only helps protect your customers, but also builds trust and loyalty, positioning your organization as a trusted advocate in financial wellness and identity protection.  Learn more View infographic 1Identity Theft Resource Center, Consumer Aftermath Report.  This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information. 

In today's fast-paced financial landscape, consumer expectations are higher than ever. Financial institutions must rethink their strategies to stay ahead of rising interest rates, intense competition, and the need to innovate constantly. To thrive, it’s not just about offering the best rates—it's about building deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers and delivering personalized, proactive value that drives loyalty and growth. To help you navigate these evolving challenges and opportunities, we’ve created an infographic that explores key industry trends and offers practical solutions to unlock growth and take steps toward a more customer-centric, profitable future. Key trends shaping the financial services industry 1. The Impact of interest rates on consumer behavior The current high-interest rate environment is fueling an intense race to the bottom among financial institutions. With so many options available, consumers are more proactive than ever about shopping for better deals on savings accounts, loans, and credit products. In fact, research shows that up to 54% of consumers may leave their bank within the next year, costing institutions millions.1 Consumers are splitting their deposits across multiple accounts, and 72% have already switched to another brand for better deals.2 As competition heats up, financial institutions must go above and beyond, offering competitive rates, exceptional customer service, and innovative solutions that meet customer's needs. 2. Meeting rising consumer expectations Consumers today expect more from their financial providers than ever before. Simply offering transactional services is no longer enough. Today’s consumers are looking for partners who can provide financial literacy resources, proactive financial health management, and personalized solutions to help them achieve their goals. Over 50% of consumers want financial providers to help them manage their finances, while one in three feel their current providers fall short.3 By embracing customer-centric strategies and offering personalized tools and advice, financial institutions can foster deeper relationships and build loyalty, ultimately driving long-term growth. 3. Prioritizing financial wellness and identity protection Due to the increasing prevalence of fraud and data breaches, consumers demand better protection and more robust s. Institutions that offer services like credit monitoring, identity alerts, and financial management tools are helping their customers stay protected and generating recurring revenue opportunities. A staggering 60% of U.S. credit card holders have been victims of fraud, with 45% experiencing multiple instances.4 Offering solutions that help detect fraud early and manage credit health can provide invaluable peace of mind while strengthening customer loyalty. 4. Real-world solutions: Experian Credit MonitoringSM and Alerts Our credit monitoring and alerts provide financial institutions with an effective way to engage their customers while offering value-added services that protect consumers’ financial well-being. With real-time notifications of significant credit changes, institutions can proactively help consumers identify potential fraud, errors, or identity theft, ensuring immediate action can be taken. The benefits extend beyond protection: Institutions that offer credit monitoring see 10x higher login rates than the industry benchmark and experience more than double the email open rates compared to the national average.5 Integrating these solutions into your offerings protects your customers, builds trust, increases engagement, and drives growth. Ready to unlock growth? The financial services industry is evolving, and consumer expectations are rising. Institutions must adapt and focus on fostering deeper, more personalized customer relationships to stay ahead. Download our infographic to discover the full range of trends and solutions to help you meet these demands and unlock growth opportunities in this competitive market. Download infographic 1J.D. Power Finds, Retail Bank Customer Satisfaction Holds Steady but Trust Declines (2024).2Salesforce, A Complete Guide to Customer Satisfaction (2024).3MX, What Influences Where Consumers Choose to Bank (June 2023).4Security.org, Credit Card Fraud Report and Statistics (2024).5Experian Internal Analysis (July 2024). This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information.

With the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show set to kickoff later this week, it seemed fitting to explore how the shifting dynamics of the used vehicle market might impact dealers and buyers over the coming year. Shedding light on some of the registration and finance trends, as well as purchasing behaviors, can help dealers and manufacturers stay ahead of the curve. And just like that, the Special Report: Automotive Consumer Trends Report was born. As I was sifting through the data, one of the trends that stood out to me was the neck-and-neck race between Millennials and Gen X for supremacy in the used vehicle market. Five years ago, in 2019, Millennials were responsible for 33.3% of used retail registrations, followed by Gen X (29.5%) and Baby Boomers (26.8%). Since then, Baby Boomers have gradually fallen off, and Gen X continues to close the already minuscule gap. Through October 2024, Millennials accounted for 31.6%, while Gen X accounted for 30.4%. But trends can turn on a dime if the last year offers any indication. Over the last rolling 12 months (October 2023-October 2024), Gen X (31.4%) accounted for the majority of used vehicle registrations compared to Millennials (30.9%). Of course, the data is still close, and what 2025 holds is anyone’s guess, but understanding even the smallest changes in market share and consumer purchasing behaviors can help dealers and manufacturers adapt and navigate the road ahead. Although there are similarities between Millennials and Gen X, there are drastic differences, including motivations and preferences. Dealers and manufacturers should engage them on a generational level. What are they buying? Some of the data might not come as a surprise but it’s a good reminder that consumers are in different phases of life, meaning priorities change. Over the last rolling 12 months, Millennials over-indexed on used vans, accounting for more than one-third of registrations. Meanwhile, Gen X over-indexed on used trucks, making up nearly one-third of registrations, and Gen Z over-indexed on cars (accounting for 17.1% of used car registrations compared to 14.6% of overall used vehicle registrations). This isn’t surprising. Many Millennials have young families and may need extra space and functionality, while Gen Xers might prefer the versatility of the pickup truck—the ability to use it for work and personal use. On the other hand, Gen Zers are still early in their careers and gravitate towards the affordability and efficiency of smaller cars. Interestingly, although used electric vehicles only make up a small portion of used retail registrations (less than 1%), Millennials made up nearly 40% over the last rolling 12 months, followed by Gen X (32.2%) and Baby Boomers (15.8%). The market at a bird’s eye view Pulling back a bit on the used vehicle landscape, over the last rolling 12 months, CUVs/SUVs (38.9%) and cars (36.6%) accounted for the majority of used retail registrations. And nearly nine-in-ten used registrations were non-luxury vehicles. What’s more, ICE vehicles made up 88.5% of used retail registrations over the same period, while alternative-fuel vehicles (not including BEVs) made up 10.7% and electric vehicles made up 0.8%. At the finance level, we’re seeing the market shift ever so slightly. Since the beginning of the pandemic, one of the constant narratives in the industry has been the rising cost of owning a vehicle, both new and used. And while the average loan amount for a used non-luxury vehicle has gone up over the past five years, we’re seeing a gradual decline since 2022. In 2019, the average loan amount was $22,636 and spiked $29,983 in 2022. In 2024, the average loan amount reached $28,895. Much of the decline in average loan amounts can be attributed to the resurgence of new vehicle inventory, which has resulted in lower used values. With new leasing climbing over the past several quarters, we may see more late-model used inventory hit the market in the next few years, which will most certainly impact used financing. The used market moving forward Relying on historical data and trends can help dealers and manufacturers prepare and navigate the road ahead. Used vehicles will always fit the need for shoppers looking for their next vehicle; understanding some market trends will help ensure dealers and manufacturers can be at the forefront of helping those shoppers. For more information on the Special Report: Automotive Consumer Trends Report, visit Experian booth #627 at the NADA Show in New Orleans, January 23-26.