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Consumer Finance Firms Earn Trust through Digital Innovation

November 1, 2019 by Jessica Woods

The bad news: For the fifth year running, the financial services industry has the lowest trust level of any business category in the U.S.

The good news: The same research that uncovered that lack of trust also reveals how financial service firms can win consumer trust—and turnkey identity protection services and credit education programs can address two top consumer demands.

Public relations giant, Edelman, found that just 57% of the general public consider the financial services industry trustworthy, but their research also explored what the industry can do to earn greater consumer trust

Consumers seek data security, access to better credit

The answer was to focus on integrating services that address all aspects of the financial life-cycle and continuing to develop innovative products and services that benefit consumers.

When asked to be more specific about consumer pain points that financial services companies should address with technology, their  response was to protect assets and data while improving access to credit.

Consumer finance firms that address these pain points can build customer goodwill and trust. Experian’s Partner Solutions enable consumer finance firms the means to do so quickly with turnkey solutions that have the potential to unlock a new form of revenue.

Experian identity protection solutions address the data-security concerns of consumers with services that can detect unauthorized or suspicious credit activity, and alert consumers if their personal data has been compromised.

Partners can choose from monitoring credit files at Experian or at all three national credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and alerting consumers to significant changes including creation of new loan or credit-card accounts.

Other big picture aspects include tracking a user’s Social Security number (or those of their children) and notifying any use of those credentials for opening bank accounts, filing tax returns, or applying for credit.

Partners can white-label patented “smart agent” technology to scour the Internet, including the “Dark Web,” and flagging instances of personal information, including names, Social Security numbers, email addresses and passwords appearing in stolen lists and data-breach disclosures to alert their customers as soon as possible.

Experian credit education solutions help consumers understand their credit files, how the factors of their credit history determine their credit score, and how choices they make can improve their credit score. Interactive tools available with the service include:

  • Access to credit files from Experian or from all three national credit bureaus
  • FICO® Score or VantageScore® credit scores based on data from Experian or from all three national credit bureaus
  • Individualized explanations of credit score results, the factors in their credit files that are preventing their scores from being higher than they are, and tips on how to improve credit scores
  • A credit score simulator that lets customers see the potential impact of different financial decisions could have on their credit scores

Credit education programs have been shown to promote credit score improvement over time, and consumer-finance companies who provide credit education services can help customers build their creditworthiness and even eventually qualify for larger loans or credit limits.

Enabling targeted offers

Direct access to consumer credit data enables Experian’s delivery of individualized identity protection and credit education information, and it also powers a highly effective prequalification engine that can screen customers as their creditworthiness changes and target them with credit card offers that meet their needs.

Providing customers Experian identity protection and credit education services can go a long way toward winning customer trust, and it can even help consumer-credit companies identify new cross-sell opportunities.

Download the complimentary Consumer Finance eBook to learn more about how your brand can use credit education and identity protection products to build trust with your customers.

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