Health care can be expensive and unaffordable for many Americans. By developing a financial assistance screening tool and raising hospital donations through local charities, Experian makes sure those in need have financial support to put their health first. For many Americans, health care costs can be brutal. Insurance may not cover enough for some people, resulting in expensive out-of-pocket costs. Others may not even have insurance, forcing them to shoulder massive bills they can’t afford to pay. A few years ago, Experian created a financial assistance screening tool that helps patients quickly find out if they are eligible for financial support by asking a few questions about income and household size. We are proud that we get to say to many low-income patients, “Don't worry about your bill, it's going to be covered – just focus on getting better.” But while it’s wonderful to witness the relief on people’s faces when they find out their medical expenses are covered, we also noticed that many individuals with a moderate income were unable to pay for unexpected medical expenses, even with this screening tool. The financial burden of a sudden health issue could tip their family budget over the edge, leading them to default on credit cards, struggle to pay rent or their mortgage, or even get pushed into bankruptcy. They’re not poor enough to get financial support, but they’re not rich enough to pay for all out-of-pocket expenses, so they fall through the cracks. Unsatisfied with this reality, my team and I created a way to help middle-income families in need, using both the Experian Health Care financial assistance screening tool and the support of generous donors. We ask third-party donors, such as charities and companies – and our fellow Experian employees – to help us assist patients who are struggling to pay their bills. Their donations help create a fund for hospitals that can cover for these types of emergencies. When hospitals run Experian’s screening tool and identify a patient struggling to pay their medical bills, we can tell the patient they're covered. Rather than worrying over bills, they can focus on what truly matters – their health. It's really exciting to take an Experian product that already works for those in need, and use it to help even more patients. Right now, there are more than 700 hospitals using our screening tool. It blows my mind to think about how many more millions of patients this donation fund will help each year.
Five years ago, I began volunteering as an Experian Ambassador, teaching personal finance to local high school students. It is so rewarding to share my credit knowledge with young people, and to see their eyes light up when they understand how credit works. I ended up starting my career at Experian 26 years ago because my passion for credit runs in my blood. I was raised in a household where reputation was everything to my father. The idea of having a good name, a good reputation and a good credit score was drilled into me. So, when Experian created the Ambassador Program to promote financial literacy in local communities through employee volunteers, I jumped at the chance to participate. At the time, I was an Account Executive and knew that for most consumers, credit is an obscure subject. I thought this program would be a great opportunity to apply my expertise and educate people in my community about the importance of taking their financial reputation seriously. As an Ambassador, I gave my first presentation on financial literacy to high school students, and the experience was so rewarding that I immediately contacted my son’s high school to see if I could teach the same class to his classmates. The program has grown to where I now go to the school twice a year, teaching the entire student body of 4,000 students about how they can responsibly build their credit. For each class, I share personal stories and anecdotal examples that are relatable to them. For example, to explain how credit scores affect consumers, I ask every student to think of number between 350 and 800. I then pick three volunteers to come to the stage – one who chose a number in the low range, one from the mid-range and third from the higher range. I then ask those three kids to agree on the dream car they would buy. Once they agree on the make and model, we talk about how the price of the car is the same for everyone, but that their credit score determines the loan financing. Someone with a higher credit score will pay much less over the life of a car loan than someone with a lower score. That’s the moment my students’ eyes light up, because they finally understand how credit works. Over the years, I’ve had kids come up to me in grocery stores and thank me for teaching them about credit. One young man in particular came up to me at a local farmer’s market, beaming. “I remember when you taught me about credit scores,” he said. “Because of you, I was able to save money, get a secured card, build my credit and buy my first car.” His pride was infectious. Credit has an impact in everyone’s life at some point. By speaking to students at a young age, in terms and language they understand, I’ve helped countless students successfully and safely build credit to help them reach their first financial milestones. I am proud of the opportunity I have been given at Experian to help young people to take control of their financial futures.
I’m constantly amazed at how Experian gets to uncover and bring to life the data that really matters. By partnering with the National Literacy Trust to analyze different data sets, we uncovered a widespread literacy crisis in England. A while back, Experian was approached by the National Literacy Trust in England, asking us to collect information to help them better understand how far-reaching literacy problems are in England. Using data from Experian, the National Literacy Trust and the 2011 census, our data analytics team compared data sets against social factors that are closely associated with low literacy levels, such as education, income and unemployment rates. Through this in-depth analysis, we were able to create a literacy vulnerability score for every single electoral ward and parliamentary constituency in England. We found that 86 percent of all English constituencies have entrenched problems with literacy. What was most surprising was how far-reaching the problem was across the country. I guess I had assumed, as most would, that in the more affluent areas where there are good levels of education, higher incomes and higher employment rates, children would have a good relationship with books. We found, however, that it doesn’t matter what community you live in, or how affluent or deprived the area is – literacy issues can affect all of us. While the initial reaction by the public has been one of shock, I really think this study was something England needed to help the next generation avoid the same problems. Working alongside the National Literacy Trust, we’re leveraging this data to raise awareness within the government. Early in February 2017, we supported an event for Members of Parliament (MPs) to highlight how the issue may affect their constituencies, using a ranking table that shows which areas are the most affected. You could say this literacy issue is a bit of a crisis, and MPs would now agree. In my role at Experian, I frequently look at what we call “societal impact stories” that highlight how Experian is engaged in local communities. What I love about my job is getting to see how all the powerful information we have on hand is being used to lay the foundations for others to transform lives and local communities for the better. While there is still much work to be done to solve the literacy issue in England, I’m constantly amazed at how we at Experian get to uncover and bring to life the data that really matters.
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/.
When it comes to cybercriminals and threat vectors, we need to expect the unexpected. Experian’s 12th annual Data Breach Industry Forecast highlights several potential trends for 2025, with AI playing a central role. This year has already seen more data breaches and impacted consumers than 2023, indicating that global data breaches are not slowing down. Some things to watch out for next year includes the potential for more internal fraud. As companies train employees on AI, there is a growing risk that some will misuse their knowledge for internal theft and sourcing sensitive information. Another trend may be cyberattackers targeting large data centers, with the growth of generative AI introducing power as a new attack vector. It’s reported that a single ChatGPT query uses significantly more electricity than a standard Google search, making data centers and cloud infrastructure vulnerable, especially in countries with varying security standards. We expect AI-related attacks to dominate the headlines next year and investments in cybersecurity will increase to tackle this emerging threat, as hackers leverage AI for phishing, password cracking, malware, and deepfakes. Jim Steven, Head of Crisis and Data Response Services at Experian Global Data Breach Resolution in the UK, anticipates that global data breaches will persist at their current rate next year. He notes that ransomware attacks are likely to become even more sophisticated with the integration of AI. Additionally, Steven predicts that threat actors will escalate their tactics to achieve greater rewards, and the misuse of consumer data to damage reputations will increase in 2025. To access the complimentary report, click here.