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Experian plc, most known among consumers as a credit-reporting agency, says it is collaborating with processor Fiserv Inc. on Experian Link, a service to make it easier for merchants to verify a consumer’s identity with debit card ownership data.
Announced Wednesday, the cooperative endeavor will see Fiserv’s proprietary debit card data integrated into Experian Link, and, when combined with Experian’s identity and fraud data, will help ensure a consumer’s identity. Experian Link launched in 2022 and Experian says it’s helped increase auto-approval rates by up to 10% for users.
Specifically, Experian Link will use Fiserv’s VerifyNow Advantage program to gain access to bank-account and debit card ownership data in real-time. Experian says Fiserv is the first debit data partner to make the Experian Link integration. VerifyNow is a Fiserv program to identify and authenticate consumer account owners and to verify account status in real-time.
“As [artificial intelligence] accelerates the speed and sophistication of fraud, merchants need precise, instant verification that confirms the customer behind a payment is truly who they say they are without introducing added friction,” Kathleen Peters, Experian North America chief innovation officer for fraud and identity, says in a statement. Experian is based in Dublin.
The expectation is that the integration will make it easier for users of Experian Link to reduce revenue loss from false declines. The service ties a consumer’s digital identity to the credit or debit card being presented, which provides “a more accurate, real-time view of whether a customer truly owns the card presented online,” Experian says. “With the new Fiserv collaboration enabling instant debit card ownership verification, Experian Link now gives merchants a more complete, data‑driven view of payment trustworthiness across both credit and debit card transactions.”
