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While there is no question the pandemic continues to create a challenging financial situation for millions of consumers, this is not the case for everyone. Because Americans are finding themselves in unique financial situations, there is not a one size fits all solution for maintaining access to the credit economy. As 2020 comes to a close and U.S. consumers and businesses grapple with another surge in COVID-19 cases, it is critical for the credit services industry to continually recognize and assess the impact the pandemic is having on consumer’s financial health. At Experian, our role is to help lenders understand consumer’s unique circumstances, so they know who they are talking to and what risk an applicant represents at any given time. We use the power of data, including traditional credit data, alternative data and consumer permissioned data, to accomplish this objective. I was recently invited to speak with Cheddar’s Nora Ali to share my views on the Road to Recovery from the pandemic, how we can maintain access to the credit economy and ways consumers can protect their credit standing and financial health during this time. You can watch the full interview here. I believe data is key to maintaining access to the credit economy and protecting consumer financial health, especially in environments like the one we currently find ourselves in.  

For the eighth consecutive year, the Orange County Register has named Experian as one of the Top Workplaces, with the company securing the #1 ranking for the second time in three years. The award, which is based on employee feedback in a survey of hundreds of leading companies in Orange County, recognizes our company’s culture of innovation and inclusion, and our commitment to employees and communities during the pandemic. For more than 40 years, Orange County has been at the heart of our North America operations, and as we persevere through these challenging times, we are especially honored to be recognized for our dedication to maintaining a healthy, collaborative work environment and achieving higher performance while giving back. This award demonstrates the resilience, talent and compassion of all the people who work here at Experian. Since the start of the pandemic, we have further expanded our dedication to social good by creating new opportunities to support employees and the broader community. Because we are founded on a culture of innovating through bringing together technology and data, we were able to quickly respond to COVID-19 and honor our commitment to using data for good. Maintaining company culture All our decisions are driven by our desire to lead with empathy, and ensuring our employees feel valued and protected, while simultaneously mobilizing our resources to positively impact society, creating greater levels of financial and social inclusion. Although we had technology in place to easily initiate working remotely, we supported the transition to remote working by launching initiatives dedicated to mental and physical well-being, including a COVID-19 Resource Center, enhanced sick-leave policies, increased opportunities to ensure continuity of professional development, as well as an ASPIRE to be Well guide, in partnership with our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Giving back Throughout the pandemic, our employees have felt compelled to help clients who were facing unprecedented and unforeseen challenges. Different groups and employees of all levels began working together to develop new products and services to help clients, customers and communities persevere. This included free credit reports for small business, adding video streaming service payments to Experian Boost, hosting #CreditChat on social media, the Experian CORE heatmap, COVID-19 U.S. Business Risk Index , Experian® Health Payer Policy Alerts and updated fraud protections through the Business Resources Website. As part of our United for Financial Health initiative, we also launched two new partnerships with non-profit organizations to empower vulnerable consumers and those marginalized by the pandemic. In collaboration with Operation HOPE, we are helping vulnerable communities improve financial health with its data, analytics, products and services. Most recently, we partnered with NAACP Empowerment Programs to offer Home Preservation Grants to African Americans at risk of losing their homes. Although COVID-19 has been a source of stress and anxiety for businesses and individuals alike, we remain committed to helping employees reach their full potential and demonstrating that values and purpose do not change in a crisis. We are honored that the Orange County Register is recognizing our tireless efforts to make a difference in the communities in which we live and work.

Almost a year worth of a global pandemic has galvanized a past of relative stability and predictability, bringing chaos and disruption and signaling a different, certainly unexpected, future. As this future unfolds, it will be the actions that business leaders and their teams take now, amidst the crisis, that will determine the fate of their organization. Navigating the current complexity and change requires the ability to effectively address the urgent needs of the present, make immediate choices, and allocate resources. The pace is fast, and actions are decisive – in fact, companies have acted 20 to 25 times faster than expected since the coronavirus pandemic started, according to McKinsey[1]. Modern decision automation facilitates technology and business strategic alignment This search for increased nimbleness and improved strategic alignment has been a recurrent topic in our conversations with clients from around the globe. What we hear is that the pandemic has boosted their search for solutions that create synergies across technology and business groups and allow for an optimal use of their IT investments. As organizations are accelerating and driving their digital transformation, they are pursuing simpler fit-for-purpose solutions to lower their costs, drive internal alignment and operational efficiencies, and help them meet and exceed all-time high customer expectations in less time. Decision automation platforms such as Experian PowerCurve bring all those elements together, taking the complexity out of the customer decision making process. This crisis has accelerated the need for automated decision management solutions that are secure, can easily scale to meet emerging needs and changes in demand, and be upgraded seamlessly to avoid getting stuck on outdated software and unnecessary long and complex IT infrastructure overhauls. That sheer need for readiness has led to more, accelerated digital transformation. McKinsey Global Survey of Executives[2] shows that companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations by three to four years. Additionally, the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has accelerated by seven years. These findings suggest that during the crisis, companies have prioritized refocusing their offerings to solve for the needs at hand rather than made huge leaps in product development in the span of a few months. With 60% of consumers having higher expectations[3] for their digital experience than before Covid-19, businesses big and small are acutely aware they must reshape their customer journeys to come out of this crisis reinforced. That requires the ability to access and manage more data sources, more attributes, more advanced analytics faster, more easily, and through a more consistent customer experience. It ultimately requires a platform that enables decision management in a digital world. In this regard, Forrester Research states in its new report; The Forrester Wave™: Digital Decisioning Platforms, Q4 2020[4], that “Experian’s PowerCurve really shines at keeping the leaders who are accountable for business results in control of decisioning by providing transparency into the decision logic and insight into actual results.” The capability to ingest and analyze high volumes of owned, third-party, and alternative data combined with seamless and flexible customer consent and protection enables faster, more effective and accurate credit decisioning, resulting in better risk management for the organization and better outcomes from clients. Technology has been fundamental in helping weather past crises and emerge stronger each time Of the hundreds of organizations currently using our decisioning software and platforms, some are prioritizing speed, like many community banks stepping up to support consumers going through hardship in a matter of weeks. Others such as Standard Chartered leverage Experian’s credit decisioning technology and machine learning capabilities to drive financial access in underbanked communities. For global financial institutions and leading retail brands, it’s all about regaining control over how and when they deploy the most relevant credit decisions and strategies while leveraging their existing data. They especially appreciate PowerCurve’s business-user-focused tools, which have received industry recognition[5] for the way they enable organizations to design strategies, including decision logic that can leverage machine learning models pretrained on prior customer behaviors. Many found in our cloud-based pre-configured data and decisioning capabilities the best way to solve for their customers’ immediate needs. It’s the case of AU Bank in India, where they leverage our standard, ‘out-of-the-box’ applications to accelerate their own transformation and continue to redefine the banking experience for consumers in the markets they serve. Other clients with sophisticated, decision-driven business processes prefer highly configurable solutions for their business-users to help them address specific needs. Personally, I feel energized by this challenge and excited about our commitment to helping more businesses find new ways to meet and exceed today’s consumer demands. Through our decisioning platform, organizations can listen to their customers, adapt their business models, adjust their offerings and innovate to drive a strong top line so they are better positioned down the road to recovery. Our decisioning solutions span the entire customer lifecycle and are used by credit and risk managers as well as developers to increase the knowledge about customer and market needs and be ready to solve today’s challenges and take on tomorrow’s opportunities.     1 McKinsey Global Survey of Executives, October 2020. 2 How COVID-19 has pushed companies over the technology tipping point—and transformed business forever. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever 3 Experian Global Insights Report September / October 2020 https://bit.ly/GIR_sep-otc 4 The Forrester Wave™: Digital Decisioning Platforms, Q4 2020 5 Experian’s profile, The Forrester Wave™: Digital Decisioning Platforms Q4 2020” Report.

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.