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It’s an exciting time for all of us at Experian. When I became CEO, just over four years ago, we set a clear path to put an even greater focus on our relationship with consumers and how we can help them in their financial journey. Today, as we prepare to launch Experian Boost, we are marking a major milestone in that commitment. There are more than 100 million Americans who don’t have fair access to credit today. These consumers are often overlooked by lenders and forced to rely on high interest credit cards and loans. Too often they find themselves stuck in a never-ending cycle in which the best of intentions and the desire for a better financial future clash with reality. At Experian, we know that a credit score is the gatekeeper to better financial opportunities. It can make or break people’s access to the very things that help them thrive in today’s economy like getting a loan for a family car or access to a credit card with a lower interest rate. Unfortunately, many consumers have credit files that are considered too “thin”. And while they may be paying their utility, mobile phone and cable TV bills on time month after month, this responsible behavior hasn’t been acknowledged or rewarded with a higher credit score. Experian Boost changes this scenario and give consumers the credit they deserve. As a business, we want to ensure that as many people as possible can access and participate in the financial system and we believe everyone deserves a fair shot at achieving their financial dreams. Today’s Experian Boost announcement drives our mission forward by giving consumers more control over their credit score. This industry-first online platform will give consumers an opportunity to instantly improve their credit scores by adding positive telecom and utility payment information directly into their credit profile. Experian Boost is free and will be accessible to every credit-active adult in America. We recently briefed Experian’s Consumer Council, a group of 12 leaders from organizations committed to helping consumers on their financial journey, on Experian Boost with great feedback. Here’s what one of the organizations, the Credit Builders Alliance, had to say: “Limited credit activity and history are key barriers for consumers to achieve their financial goals,” said Dara Duguay, executive director, Credit Builders Alliance. “We fully support initiatives that promote financial inclusion and think Experian Boost could play an important role in overcoming that barrier. We look forward to seeing how Experian’s new platform impacts consumers.” Innovations like this and the modernization of an industry don’t happen easily. I couldn’t be prouder of our employees who have been working for past three years to make this platform a reality. We are pioneering a bright future for the world of credit with Experian Boost, a product which is emblematic of the innovation culture we foster at Experian. Experian has a fundamental purpose that is shared by colleagues around the world: to strive to be a champion for the consumer. With Experian Boost, we’re bringing our purpose to life and we can’t wait to share it with you. To find out more about Experian Boost, please visit: experian.com/boost.

Most of us have experienced the feeling of frustration when it comes to online security protocols. You need to log-in to an account, but you’ve forgotten your password. When you choose an option to reset your password, you are asked to answer one of your security questions. But you forget which movie you said was your favorite while you were growing up. You take a guess, but unfortunately it’s the wrong one and you find yourself locked out of your account. At this point, you’re annoyed and wonder why accessing your account is so difficult in the first place. Historically, the attempt to balance customer security and convenience has been one of the biggest challenges online businesses have faced. As consumer expectations for smooth online experiences increase, businesses aim to deliver security protocols that make customers feel safe and protected, while allowing for easy and convenient access. According to our recent Global Fraud and Identity Report, 66 percent of consumers like security protocols when they transact online because it makes them feel protected. In fact, the lack of visible security was the number one reason customers abandoned a transaction. However, while consumers may tolerate the nuisance of common barriers to accessing their accounts, including forgetting their password or having to re-renter other security controls like CAPTCHA or two-factor authentication, higher friction doesn’t necessarily mean better security or a better overall experience. If businesses were able to offer a frictionless customer experience that was as secure, if not more secure, than the experience today, they could potentially increase overall revenue and growth. One-third of the consumers we surveyed said they would do more transactions online if there weren’t so many security hurdles to overcome. And the number rose even higher in different age groups. For instance, the percentage rose to 42 percent when it came to millennials. We believe that a fundamental shift in the thinking is required. No longer, should businesses attempt to balance security against consumer convenience, but rather, we believe that with the right use of technology, analytics and data, both goals can be simultaneously achieved. In the name of both security and convenience independently, we are already seeing data-driven, artificial-intelligence powered systems operating behind the scenes. We believe that a merging of these two functions will yield significant benefits for the business as a whole. For this to work, businesses will need to gain and maintain the customer’s trust without the familiar perception of security. Customers want to be recognized and businesses want to address the growing fraud they are experiencing. Solutions that combine device and behavioral intelligence with other data points such as biometrics, processed via advanced machine-learning, could help businesses in the future, simultaneously recognize their customers more accurately, and do so without challenging them. Winning companies will move from balancing security against convenience, to achieving both goals via a synergistic approach, and ultimately will evolve trust through technology, data and analytics.      

I’m delighted that we’ve today announced our proposed acquisition of Compuscan, a successful and trusted provider of credit information and analytics services to organisations across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Lesotho and Uganda, as well as in the Philippines and Australia. As part of the proposed acquisition, we are also pleased to include Scoresharp, Compuscan’s thriving credit risk management consultancy. Established in South Africa in 1994, Compuscan was the country’s first credit bureau for the micro finance sector, providing vital assistance at a time it was most needed.  Compuscan has since become a key player in this sector and grown into a company that operates across nine countries offering creditinformation services, decision analytics services, marketing services and loyalty/rewards services. The proposed acquisition will complement and extend the services already provided by Experian in the South African market, as well as creating significant opportunities for further growth, innovation and financial inclusion across the wider African region. We now enter a standard regulatory review process through which the competition regulator will review the proposed acquisition. South Africa is a vital hub for our regional strategy and the proposed acquisition is just one of the investments we’re making to build our presence here. We recently confirmed the upcoming launch of our new analytics platform Ascend across EMEA, with South Africa planned to be one of the first markets to benefit from its arrival. We’re excited about the potential of this acquisition not only to accelerate our innovation plans, but also to use the combined Compuscan, Scoresharp and Experian organisation to help drive financial inclusion across Africa. We look forward to welcoming the Compuscan and Scoresharp teams to Experian in due course and to bringing all of the benefits of a combined organisation to our clients and consumers across the region.  

Having a diverse workforce is vital to help us innovate and deliver on the needs of our increasingly diverse clients and consumers. Over the years, we’ve made some great progress, but there’s so much more we can do and it’s going to take the collective effort of all of us to continue to move the needle. That’s why we’re gearing up to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). It’s a day celebrated in many countries around the world to recognize the achievements of women and drive equality among men and women. At Experian, IWD activities are extending throughout the month of March. Have a look at what’s going on around the world as Experian celebrates this important day: Asia Pacific The Asia Pacific region is hosting a range of activities across our offices in March, which will include round-table and speaker events as well as an opportunity to network and pledge their support for IWD. EMEA and UK&I EMEA and UK&I are joining together for IWD to support and celebrate diversity and inclusion. The week started with a video of employees from both regions reflecting on what diverse teams bring to our business. Employees will also be invited to a variety of events to engage and network with inspirational women and hear stories from our leaders on what diversity means to them personally. Latin America Throughout the month of March, Latin America has been running a campaign to share stories of achievements in their region and raise awareness about breast cancer prevention and other diseases more common in women. On IWD, there will be a panel of women leaders who will address issues such as the social inclusion of women in the region, women’s participation in the labor market, Experian’s commitment to female leadership and the importance of a work/life In Brazil, IWD is kicking off with a presentation by members of the United Nations to present their 50-50 Gender Equality program (which aims to eliminate gender inequalities by 2030) and how they are working with companies around the world to achieve this vision. Employees will have an opportunity to hear from leaders in our business about diversity and inclusion plans for the region, and listen to a panel of external speakers discuss diversity challenges and career development. North America Our employees in North America will be kicking off the week with celebrations across their ITS’ 13 offices in the region. Each office will have daily activities throughout the week, and all employees – including virtual and those based in smaller offices – will be invited to attend webinars focused on Diversity and Inclusion topics. On IWD, there will be panel discussions with senior leaders who will speak on various career development topics. To close out the week, there will be a special Book Club discussion on March 9. We will continue to update this blog post all week with pictures and other ways we’re celebrating IWD. Bookmark this page and come back.

I work at SEGA, a global games company. I first met Nakamura-san, my contact at Experian, about eight or nine years ago. I remember telling him at the time that I was a little sceptical of credit report and analytic companies – I thought they were either too expensive or their reports weren’t detailed enough. However, a year later I needed help from a company like Experian, and I thought I’d put them to the test.   My team and I were starting to communicate with overseas markets, to work with companies around the world. So, I phoned Nakamura-san. It was a business negotiation, so I had my poker face on – I played the usual mind games you have to, insinuating that if Experian did this job well then our company might be able to offer them even more business in the future.   Safe to say, they passed the test. We’ve been building a really positive relationship with Experian for the last eight years.   We’re working with companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan and London at the moment. To work with them, we need information – for instance, we need to know if they’re actually located where they say they are. Even if a company gives us an address, it’s always possible that it operates from a different country – we’ve all heard about companies and their tax havens. When we have these questions, Nakamura-san and his team at Experian collect and analyse data on these companies, and give us very thorough information – breaking it all down and explaining everything to us really clearly.   It’s really difficult to get the rich, detailed analysis of data you need, but Experian provides us much better data than any of our previous credit research companies managed to. They consult with us, and help us use this data to get our business to a better place. I’m very grateful for it – they’ve added great value to our business. Mr. Shinji Mutazono, Team Manager, SEGA Group Companies Finance Department, SEGA Holdings CO., Ltd. 

In Malaysia, nearly 280,000 people live without electricity. By volunteering with the Liter of Light program, we’re bringing solar panel lights to remote villages, transforming the quality of life and brightening the darker hours for families. In Malaysia, more than 1 percent of the population lives without electricity – one of life’s basic necessities – which equates to nearly 280,000 people living in darkness after the sun goes down. Some people have never had electricity in their life, making simple tasks like cooking or reading nearly impossible after dark. I wanted to change that. My day job is to support and enable individuals within Experian to pursue various career opportunities, but what I’m most passionate about is the way Experian helps me invest in my local community through the Heart of Experian Corporate Social Responsibility program. This year, my team and I had the chance to collaborate with Liter of Light (LOL) – a global, grassroots movement committed to providing affordable, sustainable solar light to people with limited or no access to electricity. In February, we joined one of their projects to install 60 solar street lights in the village of Orang Asli, an indigenous community in the Cameron Highlands.   Over the span of two days in February, a group of 30 Experian volunteers built and installed the solar panel lights. On the first day, the LOL team taught us how to build the panels, teaching us the skills needed to cut wire, assemble PVC pipes and drill holes. The second day, we rode in Jeeps through muddy roads and a three-foot deep river to reach the village. We spent hours unloading the lights and assembling the panel boxes, plotting the village maps and identifying the right spots to install the solar panel lights. I was happy to see some of the local villagers’ curiosity and participation throughout the day. Some helped us assemble the lights while others prepared the right spots for installation by building bamboo stands. The weather was kind to us, so by 5 p.m., nearly all the lights were installed – just before dark! After completing all the hard work, our team recorded a group video using a drone that all of the Orang Asli children chased after. Thanks to our service project providing light to a village in darkness, 150 villagers in Orang Asli will now have more productive, higher-quality lives during the dark hours of the day. I’m so glad I got to play a role in that.