Improving financial health
We’re using our data, products, services and expertise to improve financial health and fulfil our ambition to help people thrive on their financial journey.
Bringing financial health to all
Improving financial health transforms lives by enabling people to get fairer access to credit. This can open the door to life-changing opportunities – from having a home or building a business to paying for education or healthcare.
49 million US adults and 4-5 million UK adults lack sufficient credit data for lenders to assess creditworthiness
One in five people in Colombia seek credit through unregulated channels
More than 74 million people in Brazil have defaulted on their debts
4.3 million UK low-income households are in arrears on at least one household bill or credit commitment
39% of consumers in the USA and 36% in the UK feel increasingly targeted by online fraud
47% of new businesses in the UK - and 67% in Brazil - fail within three years of opening
Driving financial inclusion
What we do: We help people establish a financial identity and build a credit profile to enable them to gain access to financial services.
How it helps: A financial identity is essential to access financial services like banking, and to build up a profile to get loans and credit from mainstream providers.
Enabling our clients to deliver positive outcomes
What we do: We help clients like lenders better understand customers so they can offer fair and affordable credit.
How it helps: Access to credit at affordable rates helps people get what they need in life – from having a home or building a business, to paying for education and healthcare.
Building financial health and confidence
What we do: We help people and small businesses build confidence to manage their finances, protect their financial identities and improve their financial health.
How it helps: Improved confidence helps people plan for the future, manage rising costs of living and major life events, and protect themselves from fraud.
How we define our social impact
Our Positive Social Impact Framework will help us measure progress towards our ambition by quantifying the number of people – consumers and small businesses – that our products help.
The framework defines positive impact as a favourable and measurable change in someone’s financial journey from interacting with one of our products, either directly or indirectly via an Experian client.
Measuring the positive social impact of our products is complex. The type of impact varies by product. And one or more of our products may have a positive impact on the same person multiple times during the course of their financial journey. We are working to address these challenges with a view to reporting a metric on positive social impact in future.
We have already defined key criteria and principles to help us identify which of our products to include within the framework:
Products included in the framework must:
- Align with our business strategy and support key priorities
- Create measurable positive social impact in one or more of the three areas of our ambition
- Align with stakeholder expectations and avoid reputational risk due to potential negative impact
Social impact metrics for each product must be:
- Quatifiable - Measurable positive social impact from the product
- Accurate - Based on high-quality data from robust data sources
- Empirically tested - Supported by evidence based on established methodology
- Transparent - Clear processes and robust governance to avoid or disclose potential double counting
- Attributable - Positive impact must be able to be traced back to specific actions caused by the products
Non-Traditional data: Boosting credit scores in the USA
Our solutions like Experian Go, Experian Boost and Cashflow Attributes are helping more people access mainstream credit by including non-traditional data in their credit profiles.
Support Hub: Helping people share their support needs in the UK
Our Support Hub is a first-of-its-kind solution enabling people with a disability in the UK to share their support needs with multiple organisations quickly and efficiently.
Limpa Nome: Tackling debt in Brazil
Our Limpa Nome recovery portal helps consumers in Brazil renegotiate unmanageable debts to clear their name and restore their credit rating.
Midatacrédito: Building financial confidence in Colombia
We’re helping people in Colombia manage debts and improve their financial health to get better access to mainstream credit.
ReFi: Removing barriers to affordable credit in the UK
We’re using innovative debt consolidation technology ReFi to expand access to credit for a wider range of UK consumers.
B.A.L.L. for life: Helping young people in the USA prepare for the future
We’re teaching young people in the USA how to start their financial journey strong through our B.A.L.L. For Life online courses, roadshows and competitions.
Brazil
We are mentoring start-ups and small businesses in Brazil to help them build their business, access finance and manage debts through our Impulsiona Startups programme.
Colombia
Our partnership with non-profit Ayuda en Acción provides financial education workshops to support migrant women, young people and rural communities in Colombia.
India
We partner with the Srujna Charitable Trust in India to deliver financial education to women affected by poverty.
UK
Working with the National Literacy Trust and grassroots sports organisations to improve literacy and financial capability among young people in the UK through the Words that Count campaign.
USA
We fund a personal finance coach through Operation Hope, to provide financial literacy training and one-on-one coaching for members of the armed forces, veterans and their family members in the USA.
Goal 1.4
By 2030, ensure that all people, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance.
Goal 8.10
Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all.
Goal 9.3
Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit.