Experian is proud to be one of the sponsors and participate in the FinCon 2014 conference, taking place September 18-21 in New Orleans, Louisiana. FinCon is an opportunity for financial media to come together to learn what’s trending in personal finance, share best practices for successful social engagement and how, as a community we can enhance financial education. If you are going to FinCon, we have lots planned! Since the conference is just days away, we wanted to highlight some of the ways you can join in the Experian fun. Join Experian’s Mike Delgado on Friday at 1:30 p.m., as he moderates the session, How to Build a Thriving Community: Top bloggers share engagement strategies that work Are you a community builder or social media manager? Let's get together and chat over coffee on Saturday, September 20th at 8 a.m. Stop by our booth to say hi to the #CreditChat crew, learn more about credit and win some goodies! Find #FinConFreddie! Be on the lookout for “FinCon Freddie” throughout the conference venue. If you happen to spot one of these little hoppers, follow the instructions to claim your $25 gift card. There are eight chances to win, so keep your eyes peeled! Even if you can’t make it to #FinCon14, follow Experian on Instagram and @Experian_US on Twitter for clues where #FinConFreddie is hiding and to learn more credit insights.

The following article is a guest post from Dara Duguay, executive director, Credit Builders Alliance. A good credit history is crucial in today’s economy. Far more than just a number, a good credit score can make the difference in being able to access the affordable lending products necessary to go to college, buy a home, or start and grow a small business. Renting an apartment, paying for car insurance, signing up for utilities and even landing a job can also be affected by a person’s credit history – or the absence of one.

Over the last few years, there has been a plethora of attention around hybrid and electric vehicles, from both consumers and media alike. Whether it’s due to the fact that consumers have become more environmentally conscience, or that fuel economy standards have begun to take shape, alternative-powered vehicles have steadily risen in popularity. But as the rest of the automotive industry continues to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, can we expect this “green” car segment to keep growing?

As the increased buzz about Big Data has filtered into Washington, D.C., policymakers have sought to learn more about Big Data, the technology that drives it, and the benefits and potential impacts for consumers. To that end, there have been three government reports released over the past year — two issued (1) by the Obama administration that focused explicitly on Big Data and one by the Federal Trade Commission that centered on “data brokers.”

The following article is a guest post from Paul Combe, President and CEO of Boston-based American Student Assistance. According to recent Experian research, student loans were the only type of consumer debt to increase during the recession, growing 84 percent from 2008 to 2014. Today, 40 million Americans carry college loans. The average borrower has nearly four different student loans for a total of $29,000. Keeping track of multiple loan payments and high debt can mean a rough financial start for newly minted college graduates. Evidence is mounting that student debt could be getting in the way of our economic recovery, as growing numbers of millennials delay forming their own households under the weight of their student debt burden.

Experian® chosen for its integration with Symitar, along with streamlined delivery and advanced real-time decisioning  Costa Mesa, Calif., September 8, 2014 — Experian®, the leading global information services company, today announced that American 1 Credit Union and Credit Union of Southern California selected Experian’s Decisioning as a ServiceSM for its Instant Prescreen service that identifies quality prospects for additional product offerings. The real-time instant prescreen (also known as prescreen of one) capability of Decisioning as a Service integrated with the credit unions’ Episys® system from Symitar provides an opportunity for the organizations to cross-sell to creditworthy members and improve business performance. The credit unions were looking for a service that was cost-effective, quick to deploy and easy to integrate and provides accurate decisions based on Experian’s vast data and analytical assets. “American 1 chose Experian’s Decisioning as a Service for instant prescreen because we were looking for an additional tool to help us increase our auto loan and credit card portfolios,” said Martha Fuerstenau, executive vice president at American 1 Credit Union. “We recognize that the key to achieve our goal was to empower the frontline and give them confidence to make that cross-sell while they are serving the members. Because of this new feature, American 1 has increased the number of loan applications that are generated from the account specialist team.” “It was important to have a seamless process in place at the teller line so that the member did not have additional wait time while the instant prescreen was being completed,” stated Dennis Wendorf, director of research and development at American 1 Credit Union. “By using Decisioning as a Service, our frontline is able to view whether or not a member is preapproved for an auto loan or a credit card with just a few clicks on the Symitar system.” “Experian continually invests in developing services that make a positive shift in the way our industry operates and give more options to consumers that enhance their credit profiles,” said David Proctor, vice president, Consumer Information Services, Experian. “The instant prescreen aspect is just one extension of our Decisioning as a Service product. The foundation of our service is the integrity of our data assets, deep analytics capabilities and the predictability of the scoring models, which, when they are combined, provide a powerful holistic decisioning tool that assists businesses in attaining growth and increasing profitability.” Experian’s Decisioning as a Service is an instant decisioning service engineered to help clients gain greater value from data and decisioning products. It does so by providing flexible, real-time access to more data sources, attributes, scores and analytics for key decision areas such as instant prescreen and credit underwriting. Visit our Decisioning as a Service and Instant Prescreen sites to learn more.

Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insights, targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, hosted a fireside chat with U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team goalkeeper Tim Howard at its 2014 Client Summit. In the following video clip from that fireside chat, Howard discusses how he decides to align with brands that match his personal and professional image. Specifically, Howard describes the formula he uses to make business partnership decisions. “We try and look for a good fit,” said Howard. “There’s not always a blueprint for that, but it’s a feeling.” He continues, “I don’t want to lend my name to just any old company. I have put in a lot of hard work into my own brand, which is basically on the field, trying to be a decent guy and a good player.” A video of the entire fireside chat featuring Howard and moderator Rick Erwin, president of consumer insights and targeting at Experian Marketing Services, can be viewed on the company’s YouTube channel with this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T19JM3i-brY Insights and stories shared by Howard connected directly to the theme of the 2014 Client Summit, reinforcing the importance of storytelling for marketers and how brands need to deliver exceptional and authentic customer experiences. During the Client Summit, Experian Marketing Services also unveiled several new capabilities that will help marketers drive customer acquisition, increase brand loyalty and improve marketing return on investment. The biggest highlight was the announcement of the Experian Marketing Suite, a cohesive, end-to-end marketing capability that enables brands to deliver authentic customer experiences every time, in any channel and via any device. To watch additional Client Summit videos, including event keynote sessions, visit http://ex.pn/W8ktEQ.

At Experian, we have a firm commitment to social responsibility. We show that commitment through a broad range of efforts that help communities realize their social and economic potential by investing in community and education programs that foster the financial health of individuals and small businesses across the globe. As part of this commitment, Experian has more than 100 employees who are certified as Experian Education Ambassadors. These ambassadors educate consumers throughout the United States about credit reporting, credit scoring, fraud and identity theft and other issues in which Experian has expertise. Presentations take place at youth organizations, schools, colleges and universities, faith-based organizations – anywhere people gather and request information about these important subjects.

Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insights, targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, gathered more than 1,000 top marketing executives from the world’s leading brands for the 2014 Client Summit. The event reinforced the importance of storytelling for marketers and how brands need to deliver exceptional and authentic customer experiences.