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I still remember buying my first home in Southern California in my mid 20’s. After going through countless open houses and unfamiliar living rooms, I found a home that met my needs. I decided to take the plunge, put an offer in, and hope for the best. It was a roller coaster of emotions – excitement, fear, joy, and pride.  Owning a home is considered a mark of financial achievement. It not only builds generational wealth but also contributes to the generational vibrancy of communities. For many, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed that dream further out of reach or threatened to take it away.   That’s why we are thrilled to announce the launch of the Home Preservation Grant. We are partnering with the NAACP Empowerment Programs for this pilot program, which will provide up to $10,000 in grants to select African American homeowners at risk of losing their homes because of COVID-19-related hardship. The Home Preservation Grant is part of our United for Financial Health program here at Experian, which aims to empower and protect vulnerable consumers to improve their financial health through education and action. For this pilot, we are targeting homeowners in the Atlanta, Ga. area and we plan to expand the program to other cities across America in the future.   The application process is open now and ends on December 8. Grant recipients will be announced on December 14, providing what we hope will be some much needed relief in time for the holidays.  

2020 has been a year that has significantly impacted us all and the shockwaves are likely to challenge us for some time to come. One of the big disappointments for the data and tech industry is the postponement or cancellation of a number of major events – including the likes of Women in Data, which Experian was a proud Gold sponsor in 2019. Although we are not able to celebrate the Women in Data flagship event in person this year, we are thrilled to be an official partner of the very first  WiD Week. This is a fantastic opportunity that will allow us to virtually gather together, support each other, and learn while in a safe online environment, driven by content that the Women in Data community needs right now. We are particularly excited to be hosting a session on Tuesday 24 November, which will focus on our support of Girls in Data. In this session, Experian’s Emily Capewell and Louise Maynard-Atem will be providing some thoughts on their involvement with the recent data challenge we hosted during the last lockdown. The data challenge was designed to help inspire young girls and boys to pursue a career in STEM. Louise will also be speaking on Thursday about her experience of 2020 and how we can action change as we head into 2021. This will be one of six short stories to mark Women in Data’s sixth birthday. We are extremely excited to be involved with WiD Week and while it will be slightly different this year, we hope our involvement can help empower and encourage more women into the data industry, supporting the next generation of data scientists who can help shape the future. You can find out more about WiD Week here.

For the past several years, Experian has been on a journey to help drive financial inclusion for millions of people around the world. This has required significant focus on how we operate, who we partner with, and the products and solutions we offer. Four years ago, when we decided to partner with and invest in Finicity, a leading financial data aggregator based in Salt Lake City, we did so on our strong belief in consumer-permissioned data and our shared vision with their leadership team. At the time, we knew Finicity’s commitment to empower consumers and drive the digital revolution fit perfectly with our priorities. Over the years, this has proven to be true time and time again as we’ve leveraged Finicity’s technology capabilities to create enormous opportunity for our clients and improve financial access for consumers. One example is our partnership on Experian Boost. With the support of Finicity’s infrastructure, more than 4.9 million consumers have connected to Experian Boost to contribute their on-time payments for their telecommunications, utility, streaming service and cell phones directly to their Experian credit reports. Through Experian Boost, and access to real-time consumer-permissioned data, we are increasing financial inclusion by helping lenders identify more consumers who can pay responsibly. In an equally powerful testament to the power of consumer-permissioned data, our partnership with Finicity is helping streamline the homebuying experience for consumers and lenders. As a distribution partner of Finicity’s Verification Solutions, we are delivering Verification of Assets (VOA), Verification of Income (VOI) and Verification of Income and Employment (VOIE) to the mortgage market. This innovative digitization of data and analytics is streamlining experiences for borrowers and is a critically important step in modernizing the mortgage process. Additionally, we have clients successfully utilizing Finicity’s Verification Solutions in automotive underwriting, personal lending, tenant screening and other sectors. Earlier this week, Mastercard closed its acquisition of Finicity. This move, along with the overall trajectory of market demand, is testament to the fact that we clearly invested in the right capability, the right team and the right vision at the right time. But our journey together isn’t over, it has just been reinforced and will continue with Finicity even under new ownership. Our commitment to working with Finicity does not change with this news, it is only enhanced. Our drive to accelerate digital lending, empower consumers and drive more consumer-permissioned data solutions is higher than ever. We will continue to partner with Finicity, now part of the Mastercard family, as a central component of our strategy. We look forward to a continued strong relationship with this new, combined entity as we continue to bring innovative solutions for consumers and businesses to the table.

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.