Consumer Impact

Equifax combines differentiated data, analytics and technology to make an impact worldwide.

Helping People Live Their Financial Best

What started over 120 years ago as a single grocery store that extended credit to the community, today helps power the economies of 24 countries – helping businesses grow faster and more efficiently, and moving people toward their financial goals. People are more than their credit score, so we go beyond the traditional credit report. This means we can give employers more data-driven insights, marketers a better way to identify and understand their customers, and lenders a fuller picture of a person's financial life. Our purpose is to help people live their financial best.

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In 2023, our unique data and analytics helped make a difference for millions of people worldwide.

In the United States, Equifax played a role in helping:

8.6M
People in the United States secured a loan to further their education
8.9M
Consumers in the United States secured a mortgage or a home equity loan
28.4M
Consumers in the United States obtained loans to buy a car
87M
Helped United States consumers get credit and retail cards

Around the world, Equifax played a role in helping:

603K
People in the United Kingdom purchased a home
1.4M
Consumers in Canada secured a loan to purchase a car
687K
Families in Australia became first time home buyers
42M
Latin American consumers gained access to credit
BASED ON ACTUAL AND ESTIMATED RESULTS FROM JANUARY-DECEMBER 2023. Sources: Data and analytics captured by Equifax business units (U.S. Information Solutions, Workforce Solutions, and International)

Improving Access to Credit and Financial Inclusion with Differentiated Data & Analytics

Visit our Financial Inclusion Content Hub for additional information on the work we’re doing to drive greater access to financial opportunity.

Our unique combination of data sources helps bring people into the credit system who currently have little or no credit history or who may have had poor credit in the past. Equifax also helps more people gain access to mainstream financial products in the credit economy by considering both traditional and alternative data sources like rent, bank transaction data or utility and phone payments. All of those pieces of information help provide a fuller picture of a person’s financial life, which can lead to more access to credit.
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We have extended our leadership in alternative data and financial inclusion through our consumer-permissioned online banking partnership with Envestnet | Yodlee; our utility data partnerships with the National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE®) and Urjanet; our rent reporting relationships with MoCaFi; and our partnership with the National Association of Minority Mortgage Brokers of America (NAMMBA).

Payment Insights Solution

Developed in partnership with Urjanet, our cloud-based Payment Insights solution promotes greater financial inclusion, regardless of the consumer's traditional credit score, by empowering consumers to share utility and telecom payment history with banks or lenders when applying for loans and other services.

Cashflow Insights Solution

Cashflow Insights is a consumer-permissioned data offering that empowers individuals to directly share their online bank account information, including balances, deposits and withdrawals from more than 7,700 participating U.S. financial institutions, directly with lenders or service providers to help create a more robust personal financial profile when applying for loans and other services.

Equifax Accelerate

The Equifax Accelerate program, launched in June 2021, challenged U.S.-based start-up and early stage software developers to create transformative solutions designed to foster financial inclusion and improve access to services with the powerful suite of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available from the Equifax for Developers API Portal. 50 teams were selected to participate, of which 10 entries were selected to move on to the next phase.  Explore the program.

Teletrack / DataX

Equifax research shows that alternative data and technology can enable an additional 21% of thin/invisible consumers to become scorable. The combination of Teletrack - acquired in 2021 - with the Equifax DataX business creates a leading U.S. specialty consumer reporting agency, with data on more than 80 million thin-file, unbanked, underbanked and credit rebuilding consumers. This powerful source of information will enable lenders and service providers to access more alternative data sources in credit decisioning that can help open new consumer financial opportunities.

National Association of Minority Mortgage Brokers of America Partnership

Our partnership with NAMMBA helps support efforts to assist underserved communities and their housing needs. This relationship aligns directly with our ongoing commitment to advance financial inclusion and help all consumers access and better understand their credit profiles.  Equifax works with NAMMBA to expand access to credit to underserved and marginalized borrowers while also working to deliver differentiated data to align with ESG and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Income and Employment Verifications

Our income and employment verification services, using The Work Number® database, help speed up the application process for loans, credit, and more, making it easier for consumers to access  important financial transactions. Whether that be through an improved customer service experience, expediting time to benefit delivery for those in need, or both.

 

The Work Number Database

Our income and employment verification services, using The WorkNumber® database, help speed up the application process for loans, government benefits, credit, and more, making it easier for consumers to access important financial and social service benefits.

In 2022, Equifax fulfilled more than 148 million verifications on behalf of consumers through The Work Number service, including more than 400,000 verifications on behalf of consumers every day.

Our verification solutions also help those in need gain access to critical government services, helping make the benefit application and renewal process more efficient, effective, and supportive.

More than 44 million federal, state and local social service verifications were fulfilled through The Work Number service in 2022 for individuals seeking benefits.

In 2022, The Work Number service provided more than 15.5 million verifications in support of consumers seeking auto loans.

The Work Number fulfilled 144 million income and employment verifications on behalf of consumers in 2023. On any given day, nearly 400,000 verification requests are completed quickly and securely through The Work Number database.

Our verification solutions also help those in need gain access to critical government services, helping make the benefit application and renewal process more efficient, effective, and supportive.

In 2023, the Work Number provided social service verifications for 25 million people seeking benefits.

In 2023, The Work Number provided verifications for 6.8 million people seeking auto loans.

Empowering Consumers by Improving Their Experience

Equifax recognizes the important role that credit reports play in the financial lives of consumers. We are always working to make our credit reports as accurate and reliable as possible. When it comes to credit report accuracy, we believe that even one error is one too many. We are committed to improving our data processes and transparently reporting our accuracy metrics on a monthly basis.

For the month of January 2024, Equifax U.S. consumer credit report accuracy was 99.81%.

This metric is determined by calculating the number of tradelines, collections, and bankruptcy disputes within the month that resulted in a change to a U.S. consumer credit report (regardless of whether that change had any impact on a consumer's credit score).

As part of our commitment to accuracy, we are continuously monitoring and enhancing our processes to improve data quality in consumer credit files and making it easier for consumers to access their Equifax credit report and correct any potential errors quickly. We also are working with our data furnishers to enhance the accuracy of information reported to us. And, as part of our over $1.5 billion investment in the Equifax Cloud, we are developing new programs that will allow us to identify potential accuracy issues and correct them before a consumer disputes information on their credit report.

Here are some of the ways that Equifax is helping people get the information and resources they need to protect their credit and finances.
Empower Consumers

Ways Equifax Supports Customers

myEquifax™


Since the launch of the myEquifax™ platform in 2018, the service has grown to serve 13 million users. myEquifax™ provides consumers with an easy and convenient way to complete tasks such as placing a security freeze, fraud alert, or filing a dispute, helping the millions of people who rely on us every day to be successful in their financial and personal objectives.

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Core Credit


Core Credit is a product that delivers a free monthly Equifax credit report and VantageScore® 3.0 credit score based on Equifax data and is available to all U.S. consumers who subscribe. Since its launch in 2019, Core Credit has gained approximately 4 million subscribers.

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Free Spanish Credit Reports


Equifax is the first and only credit bureau to provide a free, translated credit report in Spanish online and by mail. The introduction of a translated Spanish credit report in 2021 aligns directly with the ongoing Equifax commitment to advance financial inclusion and help all consumers access and better understand their credit profiles.

Free Weekly Credit Reports


In 2020, Equifax and the other national credit reporting agencies began offering free weekly credit reports to all Americans to help them protect their financial health during the sudden and unprecedented hardship caused by COVID-19.

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LGBTQ+ Credit Report Name Changes


Through the Equifax Pride Network (EPN), an employee resource group, we identified a challenge that trans and nonbinary people face with their credit reports when changing their name. Following engagement by members of the EPN, we updated our processes so that trans and nonbinary consumers who have changed their legal name will now be able to more easily inform us to change the name on their credit report without affecting their credit score.

Click here for full instructions

Free Credit Monitoring Alerts for Service Members


We offer service members free credit monitoring alerts. We continuously monitor for risks of identity theft or fraud while the military member is serving on active duty.

Learn How
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Consumer Interaction

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We are on a journey to become the most consumer-friendly consumer reporting agency. Our goal is to improve the consumer experience at every touchpoint when engaging with Equifax. Our interactive voice response system is designed to help consumers resolve issues faster and is supported by a new service center staffed by some of our most skilled agents to help consumers navigate complex finance issues and transactions.  We also updated our hearing impaired services to be fully compatible with real-time text (RTT) technology, creating more inclusion and accessibility to the hearing impaired community.

Our Purpose in Action