60 Seconds with.....Elaine Ridgewell
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What is Equifax?
It’s a credit reference agency that turns information into intelligence that is trusted by both businesses and consumers. Our headquarters are in Atlanta, US, but we operate in 14 countries across Europe, North America and Latin America. Our UK head office is in London, where I am based.
Who uses it?
Our services are used by businesses and consumers. On the business side mortgage companies use us on a daily basis. We are also used by non-financial organisations such as the passport office. Consumers use our service online to check their credit files and find out what information lenders see about them when making lending decisions.
How important is a credit rating?
Hugely. For mortgage companies it provides a summary of the risk and indebtedness of individuals applying for credit. This allows them to look beyond traditional income multiples to inform their lending decisions and increase their profits.
How does predictive sciences work?
Predictive sciences is a key part of our business that allows us to turn data into intelligence. We listen to customers’ needs and provide creative data-driven intelligence and expertise. We develop our scores and characteristics alongside our name and address-matching algorithms, and also undertake custom analytical projects and consultancy for clients.
Can it be used to target fraud?
Definitely. We have a number of anti-fraud services including those that allow businesses to authenticate individuals. We also have products focussed on tackling application fraud which verify information supplied by consumers.
How could brokers benefit from profiling customers using your credit marketing service?
We can provide information to allow the segmentation of customer types based on risk profile so brokers can obtain quotes from appropriate lenders. But the key thing here is what data could be used to derive this risk profile based on our Insight database of lenders used by brokers and also whether the required agreements are in place.
When we implement these systems for brokers we always try to work with them to provide the most profitable solutions that adhere to regulatory requirements.
