Experian 2014 Annual Report Download - page 15

22% contribution to Group revenue
We provide millions of people with
secure, online access to their credit
history and score, empowering
them to manage and improve their
financial status, and helping them
to protect themselves against
fraud and identity theft.
Business lines: Consumer Services
Competitive environment
We are the clear market leader in both
the US and UK. In the US, competition
is provided by Equifax, TransUnion, Fair
Isaac, Credit Karma and other smaller
specialists, but we are more than four
times the size of any of these competitors.
In the UK, competition is provided by
CallCredit and Equifax.
Financial characteristics
We provide consumer credit reports,
scores and identity protection to
consumers for a regular monthly
subscription fee. Depending on the
size and nature of the contract, affinity
contracts may be on a revenue or profit
share basis. Typically, affinity contracts
are multi-year agreements.
A person’s credit report contains their complete credit repayment history and is the basis
for their credit score. This score measures the likelihood that they will repay what they
owe and is used by lenders to assess risk, before they lend. The credit report data comes
from our Credit Services business line, so a person can see what lenders see about
them. Using our interactive tools, they can then routinely monitor their credit and identify
ways to improve their credit score. People may also use their credit status for a one-off
event, such as negotiating the best deal for a large credit-dependent purchase, like a car.
Our identity protection services provide people with identity theft detection, protection
and fraud resolution. We monitor the information in a person’s credit report and let
them know about changes that might be identity fraud. In the event of fraud, we give
people access to a dedicated fraud resolution service, together with insurance against
financial loss. We also help parents to monitor their children’s online activity, with our
SafetyWeb.com services. Our DataPatrol product provides real-time web and social
network monitoring, to help prevent identity fraud before it happens.
North America 78%
UK and Ireland 22%
Clients
About half of our customers are
direct subscribers, with the other
half subscribing to us through
affinity partners. Affinity partners are
organisations with large membership
or customer bases, such as retail
banks, financial institutions, insurance
companies and member associations,
who repackage our products and market
them under their own brands. Institutions
are increasingly offering these services in
response to customer demand.
This year we sent over 133 million
alerts to customers highlighting
changes to their credit reports.
Country coverage
We currently offer credit reports
and scores in the US through
Experian.com, CreditReport.com
and freecreditscore.com, and through
CreditExpert.co.uk in the UK. We
also offer identity protection services
in the US and the UK, through
ProtectMyID.com and ProtectMyID.
co.uk respectively. This year in the US
we are giving greater prominence to
the Experian brand, underscoring the
trust consumers have in it. We are also
launching Consumer Services in other
countries, such as Brazil.
Strategic report • Our business lines 11
Revenue by region