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For those of you attending the Money 20/20 show in Las Vegas next week, billed as the largest global event focused on payments and financial services innovation, the topic of millennials will be top of mind. Why? Because the millenials are 75 million strong, even surpassing the Baby Boomers, and the financial services industry knows that future success depends on learning what matters to millennials and building products and services around those desires. This is true for both consumer lending and small business lending for budding entrepreneurs. On Oct. 26 at 11:10, Michele Raneri, Experian’s VP of analytics and authority on millennial credit trends will present “What’s Trending in Lending”. The nutshell version of this presentation is that millenials use credit very differently than any other population segment, even if you compare different population segments (Generation X for example) when they were the same age as millennials now. In addition, Michele will discuss the present and future look of small business owners in this population segment. A SlideShare of the presentation will be posted here next week so you all can see the details. Aside from the credit habits of millenials, what else have we learned? Millenials have different expectations for financial services providers. This includes the authenticity of brands, the expectation for financial education, technology of course, and importantly, brands that connect to a larger purpose. Financial services organizations that develop and innovate based on the millennial wish list can capture the hearts of this population and build long lasting loyalty. If you just can’t get enough on this topic, a webinar, hosted by Michele Raneri, titled "Millennial Credit: The Insights You’ve Been Missing" is on Nov. 10.
I am part of a community that completely energizes me, makes me believe that there are good people in the world and that makes me want to be better. Over the course of four days in September, my co-workers and I were transported into the world of self-proclaimed “money media nerds” at FinCon, the Financial Influencers conference, where people share thoughts, best practices and update one another on the latest trends. FinCon is THE annual event for the financial media community. What FinCon is really about is trying to help people and each other. Whether it’s helping someone understand how to invest, how to plan for retirement, or in Experian’s case, help others understand and learn more about credit and financial empowerment, we are all a part of this education ecosystem. Of course, none of us attending FinCon do this alone. We have our co-workers, our peers and our mentors that help guide us and work alongside with us to work toward a common goal. Personally, I love that the company I work for cares about financial education, cares about consumers and empowers our team to go forth and make those long-lasting connections at FinCon. The energy at FinCon is contagious and you tend to build up a kind of super-human strength that gives you the ability to go without sleep indefinitely and miraculously have meaningful, educational conversations even though your body is on auto-pilot. It’s been a few weeks — I’m caught up on sleep, my feet have healed from the blisters and I’m not on a sugar high from eating a dozen Ally white chocolate covered Oreos — so I thought it would be a good time to give you my top three reasons why I think this year’s FinCon was so fantastic and why we want to do it again and again: The Expo hall rocks: Everyone can learn something from someone else and FinCon is no exception. This place is filled with some very smart people and smart companies. The Expo hall is a great investment for a company that is interested in sharing tools, services and thoughts with the FinCon attendees and as a company. We find a lot of value in setting up a home base for a few days at the conference and it gives people a place to find us. This year’s expo hall was full of energy (and great swag like yoga mats, selfie sticks and cocktail flavored jelly beans to name a few) and we at Experian found it to be the perfect backdrop for recording podcasts with a large number of FinCon experts. We loved helping these bloggers/writers share and deliver their unique content to an even broader audience. I Heart inspiration: You don’t have to look far at FinCon for inspiration. The keynotes, the sessions and even just hallway conversations can spark an idea, create a new passion or give someone the confidence they need to try something new. One guy was even inspired to wear money-print pants. For real. Anyway, the keynotes moved people. Carl Richards reminded me why I love to do what I do and motivated me to be better at it. Grant Baldwin made a huge impact on people by discussing balance for a successful life and how just saying no isn’t as hard as you think. One source of my personal inspiration at FinCon was watching our Social Media Guru, Mike Delgado, constantly drive content via Periscope with our Director of Public Education. They were ”Scoping” from sun up to sun down and it caught on like wildfire. By the end of the conference, everyone was feeling the love for Periscope and viewers were sending hearts in droves. This kind of sharing and helping people, as well as one another, happens so organically at FinCon. Winning isn’t all that matters, but it sure feels good: Part of the FinCon tradition is the Plutus Awards, which is an annual awards ceremony that celebrates the best in personal finance. It was amazing to see so many bloggers recognized for their hustle and run up on the stage to accept their awards. We also couldn’t be happier that Experian was honored with a Plutus Award for Best Use of Social Media by a Brand (for the second year in a row—whoop whoop)! The nomination means so much to Experian as a company, and to be chosen as the award winner is a true honor for us. This is just a small snapshot of what FinCon is every year. There’s so much more. We’re already thinking about next year’s conference in San Diego and are excited to start planning and connecting with our FinCon family. If you want to know more about how to connect with us and join in our weekly conversations with consumers, see the links below: Join our #CreditChat, hosted by @Experian_US on Twitter and Blab.im with financial experts and consumers every Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Participate in our daily #CreditScope hosted by @Experian_US on Periscope Mon-Fri. Tune in to our podcasts on SoundCloud and iHeart radio. Visit Experian’s help site for answers to common questions, advice and education about consumer credit Ask credit questions on Experian’s Facebook page at https://facebook.com/ExperianUS and Experian’s Credit Education Blog.
On September 28 in New York City, Experian and Cloudera Cares hosted a panel discussion about how Big Data can be used in a variety of ways as a force of good. The panel included Adam Fingersh, Senior Vice President, Products and Marketing for Experian, Mike Olson, Co-founder, CSO and Chairman of the Board at Cloudera; Board Member at DataKind, Dr. Richard Bonneau, Associate Professor of Biology, Computer Science and Faculty Director of Bioinformatics, New York University; Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Vlad Dubovskiy, Data Scientist, DonorsChoose.org. As part of the discussion, the panelists shared their thoughts about how data is being used to improve the quality of life for people around the world. During the discussion, Fingersh pointed to the impact of Data for Good in the Healthcare space. Highlighting how Experian’s data and technology guides hospitals, physicians and patients step by step through an increasingly complex healthcare process. Specifically, this enables health institutions to validate their patients’ identifications and help determine payment plans that can fit into a patient’s budget. To learn more about what was discussed at the event see the article from the Hub.
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.
We believe that financial literacy leads to empowerment. That is why Experian supports initiatives and partners with community organizations to deliver financial education. We also develop products and services that give more control to consumers over their credit profile and financial health. As part of advancing our mission of Financial Power to All®, we are proud to announce we are helping more than 5,000 Hispanic individuals nationwide by relieving $10 million dollars of consumer debt. To provide families with this boost, we joined forces with ForgiveCo, a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), to administer the acquisition and cancellation of qualifying consumer debt for the selected recipients. Beneficiaries will also receive a one-year premium Experian membership for free that offers access to their Experian credit report in English and Spanish[i], FICO® Score[ii], bilingual educational content, and other financial resources. We hope this effort helps raise awareness of the importance of financial literacy for everyone, and that Experian has resources to help individuals reach their financial dreams. To amplify the message, we collaborated with multi-platinum, award-winning singer and songwriter Prince Royce and you can see his video here. In fact, we have been making a concerted effort the last several years to evolve our educational resources and products to better support all underserved communities. Some of our other activities include the creation of the B.A.L.L. for Life initiative that connects African American and Hispanic youth with financial education, supporting scholarships for Asian Americans through the Ascend organization, providing custom resources for Out & Equal and Born This Way Foundation for the LGBTQ+ community, supporting the NextGen Innovation Lab for Disability:IN, and sponsoring credit counseling for the military community with Operation HOPE. For resources in Spanish, Experian offers a credit e-book and consumers can access a full suite of articles at the Ask Experian blog here. [i] Only Experian credit reports are available in Spanish. All other services associated with an Experian membership are available in English only. English fluency is required for full access to Experian’s products. [ii] Credit score calculated based on FICO® Score 8 model. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than FICO® Score 8, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more.
Amid some of the financial challenges that underserved communities experience, members across the financial services community remain committed to championing initiatives and programs that drive greater financial inclusion. In fact, collaboration has led to the inclusion of non-debt related payment information on consumers’ credit profiles, as well as digital services that make it easier to manage money. These efforts have helped to broaden access to fair and affordable financial resources for more individuals. While significant progress has been made, there is still more work to do. However, some of the misconceptions and myths about the financial services community are hindering further advancement. Debunking these myths will accelerate progress by building trust between the financial services community and consumers. Person withdrawing money from ATM contactless Myth #1: “Financial institutions have no interest in underserved consumers or credit invisibles.” The truth is, banks and credit unions want to say “yes” to more prospective borrowers, including individuals and families from underserved communities. Beyond being the right thing to do, it’s an opportunity to potentially build lifelong relationships with a relatively untapped market. A show of good faith to communities who have largely been ignored by the financial system could lead to customer loyalty that may extend to their family and friends. That’s why participants across the financial ecosystem have been proponents of including expanded data sources—such as on-time telecom, utility and video streaming service payments—on to consumer credit reports, as well as exploring other Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-regulated data sources, including payment data on short-term small dollar loans and expanded public records data. Making this data more accessible to lenders provides a more comprehensive view of a consumer’s ability and willingness to repay outstanding debt—an actionable solution to extending credit to consumers without lenders taking on additional risk. Myth #2: “There is a lack of trustworthy financial education resources.” The financial services community and affiliated organizations recognize that empowering people with financial knowledge and skillset are critical to consumers’ financial success. In fact, banks and credit unions are partnering with nonprofits and non-governmental organizations to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities within specific communities and provide relevant tools and resources. For example, Experian’s B.A.L.L. for Life (Be A Legacy Leader) program, launched in partnership with the National Urban League, serves as a catalyst for engaging with Black communities and low-income youth through live events and digital financial education. Subject matter experts, professional athletes, celebrities, and other influencers share their experiences and expertise, covering topics such as banking, credit, financial management and investing. In addition, to help people improve their financial management, Experian partners with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). The NFCC connects consumers with certified financial counselors to help them address various pain points, including debt management, homeownership, student loans or small business cash flow issues. Myth #3: “Underserved communities have few opportunities to build credit and enter the mainstream financial system.” People from underserved communities, as well as younger consumers and recent immigrants are often excluded from the mainstream financial system because they lack an extensive credit history. Historically, it’s created a vicious cycle; in order to get credit, you have to have credit. Fortunately, there has been a sea change in innovative solutions to address the specific needs of these populations. These include new credit scoring models and microfinancing which provide financial services to individuals who may have been excluded from traditional banking systems. In addition, by incorporating expanded data sources, such as telecom, utility and residential rental payments onto credit reports, lenders have more visibility into consumers who may have been excluded by traditional credit scoring methods.These programs help individuals and families from underserved communities establish and build a credit history that could enable loans, or the ability to rent an apartment or open their dream business. An example is Experian Boost®, a free feature that allows Experian members to contribute their history of making utility, cellphone, insurance, residential rent and video streaming service payments directly into their Experian credit profile. By incorporating nontraditional credit data like paying utility bills on time, online banking transactions, rental payments and verified income data, more people can establish a credit profile that can potentially qualify them for a loan. More Inclusion, Fewer Myths It’s encouraging that community organizations and banks are beginning to see the economic and social benefits of aligning on financial literacy and inclusion. As more initiatives come online, underserved populations will be able to establish a better financial foundation. Then, we can declare the myths to be history.