Advocating for equality isn’t just my job, it’s a personal passion of mine. In my hometown, I’ve served as part of the organizing committee that planned Chicago’s Gay Black Pride. Working with a company that has values similar to my life’s work is an honor. That’s one of the reasons why I’m excited to share that for the fourth year in a row, Experian has been named a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality" from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Attaining a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index is reflective of the work we’re doing to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and bring about fairness and equality for all. Our PRIDE employee resource group organizes programs year-round that raise awareness of issues including transgender rights, encouraging intersectionality with our other employee resource groups, and leading partnerships with organizations such as the Trevor Project and Out and Equal. It’s critical that these efforts within our organization extend to how we serve our communities externally. As an example, yesterday, we shared the process we now offer to help transgender and non-binary consumers update their name on their Experian credit report without impacting their credit history. Earning a perfect score by the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization is a tribute to our coworkers and company leadership, and continues to serve as an inspiration to follow our mission. This year, we will continue our efforts as we focus on credit education and awareness for those who are credit invisible within the LGBTQ+ community. Fostering and nurturing a culture of inclusion is part of our greater purpose. We are proud the HRC has recognized our work so far, and we look forward to what’s to come. For more information about Experian’s commitment to equity and diversity, visit experian.com/diversity
As a leading information services company, some of our chief priorities include protecting and ensuring the accuracy of consumer information. The integrity of our data is critical and aligns with our efforts to advocate for financial inclusion for everyone. Data accuracy is particularly relevant for the transgender and non-binary community with regard to name changes. It’s important to note that information about gender/sex, age, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation is not included in credit reports or scores. However, when someone transitions, and changes their name, their credit and financial history may still be tied to their birth name, which is also referred to as their “deadname.” This can unintentionally “out” the consumer or force them to establish a new credit history. At Experian, we have a process through which those who identify as transgender and non-binary can provide legal documentation to prove their identity without the negative emotional and financial impact. You can learn more about this process here. When you affirm your identity and update your name, Experian will also suppress your deadname so it does not appear on your Experian credit report. Taking these steps only changes your name on your Experian credit reports, and you may need to inquire about the process with other credit bureaus. Fair access to credit tools is part of our mission, as is providing these services with dignity and respect. At Experian, this is our purpose, advocating for all communities and people. This is financial inclusion.
In 2021, Experian announced that United for Financial Health programme would be launching in two EMEA markets – Italy and South Africa. Today we are pleased to bring you more news of our plans in South Africa. Our partnership with the National Small Business Chamber is focused on supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to improve their financial fitness. As a result of the pandemic, many small businesses are under enormous strain in the current environment. As the backbone of the South African economy, any challenges faced among these enterprises may have far-reaching implications on the number of unemployed people. Our campaign with the NSBC aims to support SMEs to stay in business and become more resilient to economic disruptions as they continue to be a driving force of inclusive economic growth and job creation in the country. Many SMEs are harming their chances of gaining access to credit, getting better deals from suppliers, and securing additional funding to help grow their business due to a lack of awareness and understanding of their business credit profile. Working alongside the NSBC, we aim to educate, encourage and assist SMEs to become creditworthy. The programme aims to provide tangible ways to help improve financial health, help SMEs overcome the financial difficulties that have resulted from the effects of the pandemic and kick-start people on the road to recovery. Mike Anderson, the CEO of our partners the NSBC, said: “We are extremely excited to launch a ‘How to become financially fit’ campaign in partnership with Experian South Africa, one of the leading credit bureaus, where we can equip SMEs with key tips and strategies to assist them in understanding their financial and credit health. The aim is to empower them to understand the impact of both their personal and business credit profiles on their business’s reputation and ultimately their ability to access the funding required to maintain and grow their businesses.” As part of this financial education drive, we’ll support a series of webinars hosted by the NSBC, with topics ranging from how to improve both your personal and business credit profiles, managing your cash flow, understanding what credit providers are looking for as well as protecting your own business from credit risk. The webinars are open to all NSBC members and will kick off on 28 January 2022 and run until the end of March. For more information on the ‘How to get financially fit’ NSBC campaign in partnership with Experian South Africa visit www.nsbc.africa.
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.