Experian Giving Consumers a Credit Boost for Their Love of Streaming

While increasing video streaming hours during quarantine, consumers can now also increase their credit scores

COSTA MESA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–If you’re among the millions streaming more often during COVID-19, Experian is offering a way to use the leading video streaming service to boost your credit. Building on its groundbreaking consumer credit product, Experian Boost™, the company announced today that consumers can add video streaming payment history to their Experian credit reports using Experian Boost. With an 85% increase in television streaming in March 2020 due to the onset of COVID-19, Experian recognized changing habits and strong payment history to continue to help bolster consumers’ credit scores instantly.

Experian Boost, which launched in early 2019, accepts positive payment history for utility and telecom bills to help consumers increase their FICO® Scores. More than four million consumers have connected their accounts, with over 29 million points boosted to date. With FICO® Scores, Americans can gain more access to credit with better terms.

“There is no doubt the pandemic has had an impact on the financial health of consumers,” said Jeff Softley, D2C president, Experian Consumer Services. “By giving consumers greater control, Experian Boost and our new finance tools help consumers not only gain access to quality credit but also help millions of Americans with broader financial recovery.”

Building Credit with Boost

In addition to benefiting from regularly paying their video streaming billsⁱ, consumers who have used Experian Boost will receive recommendations on additional utility and telecom accounts they can add to their credit reports that may not have qualified upon enrollment. As more accounts are added, consumers can build up their positive credit histories, which is a factor that impacts credit scores. On average, consumers who used Experian Boost received a 13-point increase. Experian Boost is free and available at http://www.experian.com/Boost.

“In just over a year, Experian Boost has proven to help consumers struggling to improve their credit score see immediate and meaningful increases,” said Bill Cheeks, president of ABBA Associates, Inc., and a member of the Experian Consumer Council. “By giving people more control over their credit, Experian is helping people take charge of their financial future.”

Contributing payment histories to an Experian credit file through Experian Boost allows lenders to make more informed decisions when considering prospective borrowers. Only positive payment histories are aggregated through the platform and consumers are always in control. In fact, they can remove the data from their Experian credit file at any time.

One Stop Financial Shop

A new free financial management hub, inside the CreditWorks Basic and Premium products, helps consumers manage their spending and provides personalized insights and actions. Some of the features includes recommendations for preferred credit cards, categorization of spending, trending data for net worth, income and cashflow, and threshold-based transactions and account balance monitoring and alerts.

In addition, a new free money-savings feature shows consumers how they can lower their bills and manage debt across their entire credit report with balance transfer cards, personal loans, student loans, mortgage refinancing, auto refinancing and auto insurance. Targeted savings opportunities and personalized savings estimates based on a user’s credit file will be added in the near future.

To learn more about Experian products, visit http://www.experian.com.

About Experian

Experian is the world’s leading global information services company. During life’s big moments — from buying a home or a car to sending a child to college to growing a business by connecting with new customers — we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organizations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have 17,800 people operating across 45 countries, and every day we’re investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximize every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Learn more at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

Experian and the Experian trademarks used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Experian and its affiliates. The use of any other trade name, copyright, or trademark is for identification and reference purposes only and does not imply any association with the copyright or trademark holder of their product or brand. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

ⁱ At launch, the service is available to select Experian Boost customers. Widely available to all consumers in early August.