Test

We use our laptops and mobile phones every day to communicate with our friends, family, and co-workers. But how do software programs communicate with each other? APIs–Application Programming Interfaces–are the hidden backbone of our modern world, allowing software programs to communicate with one another. Behind the scenes of every app and website we use, is a mesh of systems “talking” to each other through a series of APIs. Today, the API economy is quickly changing how the world interacts. Everything from photo sharing, to online shopping, to hailing a cab is happening through APIs. Because of APIs, technical innovation is happening at a faster pace than ever. We caught up with Edgar Uaje, senior product manager at Experian, to find out more about APIs in the financial services space. What exactly are APIs and why are they so important? And how do they apply to B2B? APIs are the building blocks of many of our applications that exist today. They are an intermediary that allows application programs to communicate, interact, and share data with various operating systems or other control programs. In B2B, APIs allow our clients to consume our data, products, and services in a standard format. They can utilize the APIs for internal systems to feed their risk models or external applications for their customers. As Experian has new data and services available, our clients can quickly access the data and services. Are APIs secure? APIs are secure as long as the right security measures are put in place. There are many security measures that can be utilized such as authentication, authorization, channel encryption and payload encryption. Experian takes security seriously and ensures that the right security measures are put in place to protect our data. For example, one of the recent APIs that was built this year utilizes OAuth, channel encryption, and payload encryption. The central role of APIs is promoting innovation and rapid but stable evolution, but they seem to only have taken hold selectively in much of the business world. Is the world of financial services truly ready for APIs? APIs have been around for a long time, but they are getting much more traction recently. Financial tech and online market place lending companies are leading the charge of consuming data, products, and services through APIs because they are nimble and fast. With standard API interfaces, these companies can move as fast as their development teams can. The world of financial services is evolving, and the time is now for them to embrace APIs in day-to-day business. How can APIs benefit a bank or credit union, for example? APIs can benefit a bank or credit union by allowing them to consume Experian data, products, and services in a standard format. The value to them is faster speed to market for applications (internal/external), ease of integration, and control over the user’s experience. APIs allow a bank or credit union to quickly develop new and innovative applications quickly, with the support of their development teams. Can you tell us more about the API Developer Portal? Experian will publish the documentation of our available APIs on our Developer Portal over time as they become available. Our clients will have a one-stop shop to view available APIs, review API documentation, obtain credentials, and test APIs. This is simplifying data access by utilizing REST API, making it easier for our clients.

Since the advent of the internet, our lives have changed drastically for the better. We can perform many of life’s daily activities from the comfort of our own home. According to Aite, in 2016 alone 36 million Americans made some form of mobile payment — paying a bill, purchasing something online, paying for fast food or making a mobile wallet purchase at a retailer. Simply put, the internet has made our lives easier. But with the good also comes the bad. While most consumers have moved to the digital world, so have fraudsters. With minimal risk and high reward at stake, e-commerce fraud attacks have increased dramatically over the last few years, with no signs of slowing down. We recently analyzed millions of transactions from the first half of 2017 to identify fraud attack rates based on billing and shipping addresses and broke down the findings into various geographic trends. Fraud attack rates represent the attempted fraudulent e-commerce transactions against the population of overall e-commerce orders. Consumers living out West and in the South have experienced more than their fair share of fraud. During the first half of 2017, the West and the South were the top two regions for both billing and shipping attacks. While both regions were at the top during the same time last year, the attacks themselves have increased substantially. Given the proximity to seaports and major international airports, this is somewhat unsurprising — particularly for shipping fraud — as many fraudsters will leverage reshippers to transport goods soon after delivery. .dataTb{margin:20px auto;width:100%}.dataTb:after{clear:both}.dataTb table{}.dataTb td,.dataTb th{border:1px solid #ddd;padding:.8em}.dataTb th{background:#F4F4F4}.tbL{float:left;width:49%}.tbR{float:right;width:49%;margin:0 0 0 2%} Shipping: Riskiest Regions Region Attack rate West 38.1 South 32.1 Northeast 27.0 North Central 20.7 Billing: Riskiest Regions Region Attack rate West 37.2 South 32.9 Northeast 27.3 North Central 24.0   At the state level, the top three shipping fraud states remained the same as 2016 — Delaware, Oregon and Florida — but the order changed. Oregon was the most targeted, with a fraud rate of 135.2 basis points, more than triple its rate at in the end of 2016. Though no longer in the top spot, Delaware saw alarming spikes as well, with shipping attack rates nearly triple last year’s rate at 128.6 basis points and billing attacks at 79.6 basis points. .dataTb{margin:20px auto;width:100%}.dataTb:after{clear:both}.dataTb table{}.dataTb td,.dataTb th{border:1px solid #ddd;padding:.8em}.dataTb th{background:#F4F4F4}.tbL{float:left;width:49%}.tbR{float:right;width:49%;margin:0 0 0 2%} Shipping: Riskiest States State Attack rate Oregon 135.2 Delaware 128.2 Florida 57.4 New York 45.0 Nevada 36.9 California 36.9 Georgia 33.5 Washington, D.C 30.8 Texas 29.6 Illinois 29.4 Billing: Riskiest States Region Attack rate Oregon 87.5 Delaware 79.6 Washington, D.C. 63.0 Florida 47.4 Nevada 38.8 California 36.9 Arkansas 36.6 New York 35.5 Vermont 34.2 Georgia 33.4     Diving a bit deeper, ZIPTM codes in Miami, Fla., make up a significant portion of the top 10 ZIP CodeTM lists for shipping and billing attacks — in fact, many of the same ZIP codes appear on both lists. The other ZIP Code that appears on both lists is South El Monte, Calif., which has a high percentage of industrial properties — common targets for fraudsters to ship packages, then reship overseas. You can download the top 100 riskiest Zip Codes in the U.S. for H1 2017. .dataTb{margin:20px auto;width:100%}.dataTb:after{clear:both}.dataTb table{}.dataTb td,.dataTb th{border:1px solid #ddd;padding:.8em}.dataTb th{background:#F4F4F4}.tbL{float:left;width:49%}.tbR{float:right;width:49%;margin:0 0 0 2%} Shipping: Top 10 riskiest ZIP™ Codes ZIP Code Attack rate 33122 [Miami, Fla.] 2409.4 91733 [South El Monte, Calif.] 1655.5 33198 [Miami, Fla.] 1295.2 33166 [Miami, Fla.] 1266.0 33195 [Miami, Fla.] 1037.3 33192 [Miami, Fla.] 893.9 97251 [Portland, Ore.] 890.6 07064 [Port Reading, NJ] 808.9 89423 [Minden, Nev.] 685.5 77072 [Houston, Tex.] 629.3 Billing: Top 10 riskiest ZIP™ Codes ZIP Code Attack rate 77060 [Houston, Tex.] 1337.6 33198 [Miami, Fla.] 1215.6 33122 [Miami, Fla.] 1106.2 33166 [Miami, Fla.] 1037.4 91733 [South El Monte, Calif.] 780.1 33195 [Miami, Fla.] 713.7 97252 [Portland, Ore.] 670.8 33191 [Miami, Fla.] 598.8 33708 [St. Petersburg, Fla.] 563.6 33792 [Miami, Fla.] 493.0   As e-commerce fraud continues to grow, businesses need to be proactive to keep themselves and their customers safe. That means incorporating multiple, layered fraud prevention strategies that work together seamlessly — for example, understanding details about users and their devices, knowing how users interact with the business and evaluating previous transaction history. This level of insight can help businesses distinguish real customers from nefarious ones without impacting the customer experience. While businesses are ultimately responsible for the safety of customers and their data, the onus doesn’t rest solely with them. Consumers should also be vigilant when it comes to protecting their digital identities and payment information. That means creating strong, unique passwords; actively monitoring online accounts; and using two-factor authentication to secure account access. At the end of the day, e-commerce fraud is a challenge that businesses and consumers will experience for the foreseeable future. But rising attack rates don’t have to spell doom and gloom for the industry. E-commerce growth is still extremely strong, as consumers interact through multiple channels (in-store, mobile and web) and expect a personalized experience. Establishing trust and verifying digital identities are key to meeting these latest expectations, which provide new opportunities for businesses and consumers to interact seamlessly and transact securely. With multiple safeguards in place, businesses have a variety of options to protect their customers and their brand reputation.   Experian is a nonexclusive full-service provider licensee of the United States Postal Service®. The following trademarks are owned by the United States Postal Service®: ZIP and ZIP Code. The price for Experian’s services is not established, controlled or approved by the United States Postal Service.

We regularly hear from clients that charge-offs are increasing and they’re struggling to keep up with the credit loss. Many clients use the same debt collection strategy they’ve used for years – when businesses or consumers can’t repay a loan, the creditor or collection agency aggressively contacts them via phone or mail to obtain repayment – never considering the customer experience for the debtor. Our data shows that consumers accounted for $37.24 billion in bankcard charge-offs in Q2 2017, a 17.1 percent increase from Q2 2016. Absorbing credit losses at such a high rate can impact the sustainability of the institution. Clearly the process could use some adjusting. Traditionally, debt collection has been solely about the money. The priority was ensuring that as much of the outstanding debt as possible was repaid. But collecting needs to be about more than that. It also should focus on the customer and his or her individual situation. When it comes to debt collection, customers should not all be treated the same way. I recently shared some tips in Credit Union Business Magazine about how to actively engage and collect from members. The same holds true for other financial institutions – they need to know the difference between a customer who has simply forgotten to make a payment and one who is dealing with financial hardship. As an example, if a person is current on his or her mortgage payment but has slipped behind on his or her credit card payment, that doesn’t necessarily signify financial hardship. It’s an opportunity to work with the customer to manage the debt and get back to current. Modern financial institutions build acquisition and customer management strategies targeted at individuals, so why should the collection process be any different? The challenge is keeping the customer at the center while also managing against potential increases in delinquencies. This holistic approach may be slightly more complex, but technology and analytics will simplify the process and bring about a more engaging experience for customers. The Power of Data and Technology Instead of relying on the same outdated collections approach – which results in uncomfortable exchanges on the phone that don’t ensure repayment –leverage data to your advantage. The data and technology exists to help you make more informed decisions, such as: What’s the most effective communication channel to reach the defaulting customer? When should you contact him or her? How often? The best course of action could be high-touch outreach, but sometimes doing nothing is the right approach. It all depends on the situation. Data and analytics can help uncover which customers are most likely to pay on their own and those who may need a little more help, allowing you to adjust your treatment strategy accordingly. By catering to the preferences of the customer, there’s a greater chance for a positive experience on both sides. The results: less charge-off debt, higher customer satisfaction and a stronger relationship. Explore the Digital Age In 2016, 36 million Americans made some form of mobile payment—paying a bill, purchasing something online, or paying for fast food, or making a Mobile Wallet purchase at a retailer. By 2020, nearly 184 million consumers will have done so, according to Aite. Consumers expect and deserve convenience. In the digital world, financial institutions have an opportunity to provide that expectation and then some. Imagine a customer being able to negotiate and manage his or her past-due account virtually, in the privacy of his or her own home, when it’s most convenient, to set their payment dates and terms. Luckily, the technology exists to make this vision a reality. Customers, not money, need to be at the heart of every debt collections strategy. Gone are the days of mass phone calls to debtors. That strategy made consumers unhappy, embarrassed and resentful. Successful debt collection comes down to a basic philosophy: Treat customers and his or her unique situation individually rather than as a portfolio profile. The creditors who live by that philosophy have an opportunity to reap the rewards on the back-end.