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It’s been an incredibly busy few months at Experian, not only with the debut of powerful new product features, but also the recent announcement that Experian now offers its members FICO® Scores through its direct-to-consumer products. Making FICO® Scores available through Experian products will allow consumers to boost their credit confidence more than ever before – allowing them to harness the power of a widely recognized family of credit scores to make wiser decisions about their financial futures. We think that knowledge might make those folks walk taller as they head to see their lenders. You’ve probably seen these commercials on TV and YouTube, but there’s an opportunity for everyone, including small business owners. The confidence that comes from being credit-wise can help you in many situations, like when you're looking to buy a home: ] Just like the pro negotiator and her husband in this piece, we want our members to feel incredibly confident about their credit. When credit helps them maximize their dreams, those successes are something we can all celebrate. Helping people understand how their behaviors shape their credit scores is something we’re committed to at all levels because it delivers something more than just a free gift with purchase—it’s a lifetime understanding of credit that has real value. Offering FICO Scores truly enriches the product experience that our members receive, since they’re well known as the family of scores used in 90 percent of credit decisions. When they recently celebrated 25 years of the FICO® Score by ringing the starting bell at the New York Stock Exchange on January 7, the FICO team got down with their Credit Swagger and marked the occasion with some moves you may recognize from the video above: http://experian.tumblr.com/post/108254286209/synchronized-credit-swagger-nextlevel We know that people have been celebrating the power that comes from now seeing their FICO Scores from Experian data. We’ve been seeing great activity on our Facebook and Twitter accounts since the new product went live, and we see the promise of our products reflected in them. People are hearing—and truly understanding—how being credit savvy can give them that Credit Swagger you’ve seen, and help speed the clock to realizing their dreams. We’re honored to be their trusted credit and finance resource, working each day to respond to their needs as well as leading the evolution of our business landscape. We hope that you don’t see credit as a four-letter word (because it’s not!). We couldn’t be happier to bring that knowledge to life with a FICO® Score for our members. This article is provided for general guidance and information. It is not intended as, nor should it be construed to be, legal, financial or other professional advice. Please consult with your attorney or financial advisor to discuss any legal or financial issues involved with credit decisions.

With the New Year in full swing, it’s time to start turning thoughts to pulling together all the financial documents you’ll need to prep for tax time. A recent survey commissioned by Experian’s ProtectMyID shows that more and more consumers continue to file their taxes electronically – an estimated 81 percent of respondents plan to do so in 2015—but some are still unaware of the nature of tax-related identity theft (16 percent). Further, over half of those surveyed said that they prepare their taxes themselves (59 percent), and do so on their own home computer network – with nearly all indicating that they file from their personal desktop computer or tablet (91 percent). “Most taxpayers are now filing electronically so it’s important to know how to safely submit and save tax records, keeping personal information away from cyber thieves,” said Becky Frost, senior manager of consumer education for Experian’s ProtectMyID. Of course, another big question related to taxes is how much people anticipate they may receive back, and how they plan to spend what comes back their way from Uncle Sam. 83 percent of filers plan to receive a return of some kind, with the largest group of respondents (46 percent) saying their returns will be rolled back into either investments or a savings fund, with the next largest group (34 percent) using the funds to pay down their credit card debt. Taking that return check out for a shopping spree to kick up one’s wardrobe was a much less popular option, the leading choice for only 17 percent of those surveyed. Are you prepared to assemble your documents and submit your tax information by April 15? Learn more about how others plan to file safely—and how they plan to spend that return they plan on receiving—in the survey below. Experian ProtectMyID Tax Survey Report – January, 2015 from Experian_US This article is provided for general guidance and information. It is not intended as, nor should it be construed to be, legal, financial or other professional advice. Please consult with your attorney or financial advisor to discuss any legal or financial issues involved with credit decisions.

As many organizations look to turn data into actionable insight, a high degree of inaccurate information is limiting data insight and negatively impacting the bottom line. This is according to a new Experian Data Quality released today. On average, U.S. organizations believe 32 percent of their data is inaccurate, a 28 percent increase over last year’s figure of 25 percent. This high degree of inaccurate information causes 91 percent of respondents to believe revenue is affected by inaccurate data in terms of wasted resources, lost productivity, or wasted marketing and communications spend. This high level of inaccurate data comes despite the fact that organizations are investing in data quality. Eighty-eight percent of global companies have a data quality solution in place today and if we look ahead to the next 12 months, we see that 84 percent of companies plan to make some sort of data quality solution a priority for their business to implement for the first time or to improve upon. However, this investment is often segmented across various departments across the organization and most lack a centralized, complete data management strategy. Today we see that just one in four organizations has a sophisticated approach to data management. That lack of sophistication is driving up levels of inaccuracy and hurting the bottom line. “The cost of poor data quality is hitting home in boardrooms across the globe; most businesses, however, are perplexed because they actually are investing in data quality tools,” said Thomas Schutz, senior vice president and general manager for Experian Data Quality. “While data quality technology is certainly a requirement, many businesses have neglected to focus on staff and organizational structure. Very few organizations have appointed a centralized manager for data quality and most lack sophistication in their data management methods. Organizations need to do more than buy a new piece of software; they need to make data quality an organizational priority and put the right team in place to manage that complex effort.” The study also found that: Ninety-seven percent of U.S. companies feel driven to turn data into insight Ninety percent of U.S. companies have some sort of data quality solution in place today More companies who have enjoyed a significant increase in profits in the last 12 months manage their data quality centrally On average, U.S. respondents feel 27 percent of their revenue is wasted due to inaccurate and incomplete customer or prospect data To obtain a copy of The data quality benchmark report from Experian Data Quality, click here.