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The benefits of financial education are clear — higher economic growth, lower poverty rates and greater consumer confidence. This is why we put education as a top priority. One principle in our education philosophy is a “train-the-trainer” approach. We know that alone, we cannot reach every person but together, we can reach significantly more. We partner with nonprofits, such as Credit Builders Alliance, to ensure they have accurate information to share when consumers come to them for assistance. This week, Experian and Credit Builders Alliance are hosting a two-day credit education training session for financial educators in Mississippi. The event is organized by the Mississippi State University Extension Center for Economic Education and Financial Literacy and will be held March 1 – 2, 2017, at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center in the Jackson, Miss., area. “Mississippi’s average credit score is 645. It’s the lowest ranking state in Experian’s State of Credit report, falling 28 points below the national average,” said Rod Griffin, Experian’s director of public education. “We are committed to empowering the state’s financial educators with high-quality education, which ultimately will help strengthen the community’s understanding of personal finance management.” The workshop will highlight the basics of building credit, the importance of a good credit history and the value of credit reports. Additionally, the workshop will demonstrate how to promote access to responsible financial products and how to respond to consumer questions. Participants also will share information about local initiatives aimed at bringing underserved consumers into the financial mainstream. “We want to alleviate poverty and bring prosperity to our communities. Credit is essential to attaining that goal. However, consumers need to know how to use credit responsibly,” said Dara Duguay, executive director, Credit Builders Alliance. “These educators are on the front line of ensuring consumers are receiving accurate information. This is why we are so passionate about delivering training sessions with top credit experts throughout the country.” To learn more about the training, visit http://creditbuildersalliance.org/register. For more information regarding Experian’s education efforts, visit https://www.experian.com/consumereducation.

  I’m a Senior Product Strategy Manager in Experian’s Consumer Services department. I help banks connect people to the loans and credit cards they need, but my role is always changing because the world around us is changing. My team and I noticed how a whole generation is now thinking differently from other generations about the way they work and live. Rather than joining a large corporation, they make a living through a variety of platforms, like Uber, Airbnb and others — stringing together multiple jobs to make their income on their own timetable. The challenge for these people comes when they go to a bank to take out a loan, apply for a credit card or try to finance a car. The banks have difficultly gauging their risk or creditworthiness because they don’t have a traditional income source or because their credit footprint is difficult to trace. Banks refer to those types of individuals as “credit invisibles.” That’s where my team and I come in. We brainstorm ideas and create concepts for Experian to implement that will enable us to aggregate data from alternative sources — like utility bills or phone bills — to give banks a more accurate, robust view of each individual. Additionally, we create useful tools that help people manage their multiple income streams to ensure they’re able to meet their financial obligations each month. As the wealth of data in the world continues to grow, I see myself as an innovator who turns data into utility that works for people. I am constantly dreaming up new ways to connect banks with people who need a loan to feed their family, send their kids to college or buy a car for work. I want to help people take the guesswork out of taking each of life’s biggest steps. I want to empower them — through their data — to realize their dreams. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.  

At Experian, we unlock the power of data to create opportunities for consumers, businesses and society. Every day, we help millions of people navigate key life moments, helping them to protect, manage and make the most of their data. On top of that, we continually work to make sure that we have all the right processes, policies, training, monitoring, governance and behaviours in place – to ensure that we treat all our customers fairly and avoid consumer detriment. As a result of our commitments and values, I am pleased to announce that Experian has achieved Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation. In 2014, the FCA became responsible for regulating all consumer credit and credit reference agencies in the UK and we applied for full FCA authorisation on 25 February 2016. The process has allowed us to stress-test our risk management structures and the plans we have in place to ensure fair outcomes for our customers. We have always looked to implement effective resolutions for people, to dispute what they identify as errors in their credit reports, through a responsive and fast system. It is an evolving and dynamic system and we have made many changes and improvements over the years. So we naturally welcomed the opportunity to discuss new proposals for enhancing and improving what we were already doing. Experian has always led the way in setting new benchmarks for best-practice, when it comes to both our operating standards and approach to data stewardship. As such, the authorisation from the FCA is important – and we are proud to have received the nod. This is another key milestone and we will continue to strive for the very highest standards of integrity, ensuring that we always focus on doing what's right for our customers.