Experian is a partner of E2E.
Over a third of the global adult population still lack access to basic financial services, while one billion people don’t have official proof of identity. Additionally, 1.7 billion people are completely ‘unbanked’, and risk being overlooked by the entire global financial services system.
This is a problem that exists everywhere. More than 63 million people in Brazil have unmanageable debts that are affecting their credit rating. Whereas in the US, 28 million consumers are ‘credit invisible’ and an additional 21 million consumers have “unscorable” credit files, meaning they have what’s considered a thin credit file or limited credit history.
Much of this comes down to provision of appropriate education and knowledge around good financial management, alongside the tools and products that can empower people in gaining access to fair, affordable credit.
As the world’s largest credit bureau, Experian are in a unique position help with this. In fact, it is our social mission to improve financial inclusion – because fair and affordable access to credit enhances opportunities in life. While we are proud of our achievements to date, we know that financial health challenges mean millions of people are still missing out on these opportunities.
Investing in communities
Through our community investment programme, we have provided vital support to communities, which was reflected by our colleagues volunteering nearly 25,000 hours of their time over the last year. This is in addition to an investment of US$15.9 million in programmes that support our communities, including enhancing financial literacy with partners in Brazil, the USA, and the UK & Ireland.
Examples include financial literacy support for microentrepreneurs through Sebrae in Brazil, Words That Count with the National Literacy Trust and Number Confidence Week with National Numeracy in the UK, alongside partnerships in the USA with the National Urban League, Operation Hope and Saver Life which aim to empower Black Americans through financial education.
In addition, our social innovation products have reached reached over 82 million people since 2013, offering innovative ways to verify identity and to strengthen credit profiles. It is our aim to help everyone have fair access to finance, as no one should miss out on the opportunities which can transform lives.
Working together
As the current economic environment adds extra pressure on households around the world, we recognise the significance of the role we can play to help ensure people can get through this period of financial pressure. It’s important that we are doing all we can to keep pace, equipping people with the knowledge and tools to help them manage their finances effectively.
However, that’s only possible if we work together. By doing this, we can bring more people into the mainstream financial system, tackle exclusion and prevent unaffordable lending.
Find out more about how Experian is improving financial health globally, here.
You can view the complete E2E International 100 track here
