news release

Experian and VisualDNA launch joint initiative to widen access to financial services

Psychometric quiz testing to be used to improve access to mainstream credit amongst underserved consumers

Nottingham, UK, September 24 2014 - Experian, the global information services company, today announced it has partnered with VisualDNA, the leading provider of psychometric testing for the credit and risk sector, to enable financial services companies to better understand their customers and open up the provision of credit to the unbanked and underserved.

Under the new initiative customers in South Africa, Turkey and Russia could be offered the chance to take a psychometric quiz where traditional credit check and scoring techniques cannot be used. Visual DNA's pioneering techniques use image based quizzes that provide an alternative indication of a person's creditworthiness and suitability for financial products in countries where little formal credit history exists.

The tests are already being used in a number of countries and evidence so far shows that this unique approach can deliver improved acceptance rates for credit and a reduction in default rates1. Individuals choose themselves if they wish to take the test and the quiz does not require an individual to submit their personal data.

Experian and VisualDNA will be working with a range of lenders to offer the service to millions of people, initially in South Africa, Turkey and Russia, helping them to improve their access to credit and other mainstream financial services. The new initiative complements Experian's existing portfolio of credit scoring and decision analytics solutions.

Charles Butterworth, Managing Director, Experian EMEA, commented:
"Our partnership with VisualDNA means we can work with lenders in a range of countries to take credit and other mainstream financial services to customers who were previously unable to obtain credit as a result of a lack of or poor credit history. With this partnership we can help offer people a serious and viable step up the economic ladder, and help them to be better serviced through improved understanding of them as individuals and their likely needs. We are working closely with our clients in a number of countries who are similarly committed to making this happen."

Clare McCaffery, Managing Director, Credit & Risk at VisualDNA commented:
"Access to traditional lending is often a catch 22 with a lack of credit history preventing access. Our goal is to use advanced technology to break this cycle and change people's lives for the better.  The work we are doing with Experian is incredibly exciting and the results we have from our testing phase indicate that millions of people could potentially benefit in South Africa and Turkey alone. By helping financial services companies better understand all of their customers through the additional layer of personality data we can also add value to well beyond the decision to provide a loan."

1 Data based on over 100,000 credit scores generated through VisualDNA technology in conjunction with lenders globally showed an increase in acceptance rates and a reduction in defaults.

Ends

Contact:

For Experian
Maddy Morgan Williams / Sarah Muir
Lansons Communications
020 7490 8828
mailto:maddymw@lansons.commaddymw@lansons.com mailto:maddymw@lansons.com/ mailto:sarahm@lansons.comsarahm@lansons.com mailto:sarahm@lansons.com

For VisualDNA
Alex Simmons
Smithfield
020 7903 0669
mailto:asimmons@smithfieldgroup.comasimmons@smithfieldgroup.com mailto:asimmons@smithfieldgroup.com/ mailto:visualdna@smithfieldgroup.comvisualdna@smithfieldgroup.com mailto:visualdna@smithfieldgroup.com

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2014 was US$4.8 billion. Experian employs approximately 16,000 people in 39 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com/http://www.experianplc.com http://www.experianplc.com/.

About VisualDNA
VisualDNA is an independent technology company based in Shoreditch, London. We want to help people be valued for who they really are. We do this by combining psychological testing with big data analysis. For ordinary people, this means we can help them understand themselves better. For businesses, it means we can help them understand their customers better.

Our vision is to use the technological tools at humanity's disposal to understand each other more fully and ultimately to build a better world.  Across our markets we are enabling wider access to financial services, helping the unbanked gain access to lending services, and providing lenders a way of broadening their customer relationships with those they serve. We aim to make a social impact through our work which is why one of our aims is to help 30m unbanked people in developing markets get access to credit by 2017
For more information, visit http://www.visualdna.com/http://www.visualdna.com http://www.visualdna.com/



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