What we found
9 out of 10 customers want to apply for credit online
YouGov’s study confirmed that 1 in 2 UK adults said they would be looking to take out a financial product or credit within the next two years, with 88% of preferring to apply online. It also found evidence that credit applicants would also prefer to share information about themselves and their finances in that environment.
This sets a challenge to lenders to improve their online customer experience or face dropouts.
Almost three in four applicants (70%) said the applications process ‘fell short’ of their expectations when they couldn’t do the whole process online.
With slow and complicated application processes the most common reason for dissatisfaction, lenders who can accelerate applications by making it easy to share information to verify income and employment online could significantly improve their operational efficiency, increase customer satisfaction, and accept more customers and grow their business with less risk.
With over a million people sharing their Open Banking data with Experian in the last 12 months to boost their credit score, and 150% increase growth in Open Banking during the pandemic, the evidence suggests that more consumers than ever are willing to share their financial data.
Our evidence shows there is a strong appetite amongst consumers to automatically share payroll data when the value exchange is clear
Our YouGov poll shows that 3 out of 4 consumers (64%) are willing to share their data where there is a clear value exchange. This rises to 72% when a customer is applying for a mortgage.
The prospect of getting better rates on financial products was the most popular incentive for consumers granting access to payslip data, with 38% of respondents selecting this option. A quicker decision on applications (32%), a higher chance of acceptance (31%), and a more secure way of sharing data (27%) were also seen as attractive incentives.
Speed, convenience, and control appear to be critical criteria governing how consumers apply for credit and how freely payroll data is shared.
What does this mean for me?
Automated access to verified income and employment data with a consumer’s consent offers a new and exciting opportunity for lenders to accurately understand affordability in real time. Evidence from the USA where the automated sharing of payslip data has been taking place for over 30 years shows that access to verified income and employment information is proven to enhance the quality of lending decisions.
Experian’s Work Report now brings this service to the UK. It delivers verified income and employment information instantly from an employee’s payroll in seconds. It’s designed to automate the exchange of payroll information securely with a consumer’s consent, to streamline the application process and provide a more accurate information for credit decisions.
Work Report provides instant access to verified gross income, employment tenure, employer name and industry sector. Using it, lenders can view 3-months of granular payroll data and 12-months of rolling net/ gross pay.
- Access verified data on employment status and source of income
- Source payroll data directly from an employer’s payroll and eliminate fraudulent payslips
- Accept applicants you may otherwise have declined by providing greater assurance on their employment status and source of income
- Save time and resource in collecting and verifying payroll data. Improve the speed and accuracy of your lending decisions
- Deliver a better customer experience
Want to know more?
Download the full research report to explore the value of digital income and employment data.
Get in touch to see how we can help streamline your employment verifications and grow your business with digital access to data from source.
Sources
[1] Thin Credit Files: Are you ‘invisible’ to the financial system?, Experian
[2] YouGov