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Our news team investigates the technologies, benefits, costs, and limitations of leading financial products and services. Hear from personal finance leaders, resource providers, and finfluencers so you can make smart money moves.

From the Industry's Top Experts

John Ulzheimer Credit Expert
Erica Sandberg Finance Expert
Andrea Woroch Savings Expert
Ashley Fricker Senior Editor
Washington State Bans Medical Debt from Credit Reports, Putting Pressure on Lenders and Bureaus

Washington State Bans Medical Debt from Credit Reports

Washington state has become the latest advocate in the national debate regarding medical debt and credit... read more »

BNPL

TransUnion Becomes the Latest Bureau to Include Affirm’s Pay Over Time Products on its Reports

1,190 views

3 min read

TransUnion Becomes the Latest Bureau to Include Affirm Payments

Those who use Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products have historically been in a credit blind spot. These short-term loans usually fly below the... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/22/25

Loans

Equifax Reports Tighter Credit for Small Business in February for Second Straight Month 

1,596 views

1 min read

Equifax Reports Tighter Credit for Small Business in February

Small business owners were under pressure in February as lending tightened for the second consecutive month. The Equifax Small Business Lending... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/22/25

Credit Cards

Credit Card Consolidation: Regulators Greenlight the Capital One-Discover Merger

1,089 views

1 min read

Regulators Greenlight the Capital One-Discover Merger

Regulators approved the Capital One-Discover merger worth $35 billion, paving the way for one of the biggest consolidations ever in the U.S.... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/22/25

Loans

Opinion: Cash Flow Credit Scores Revolutionize Lending, Opening Doors for Millions

1,708 views

3 min read

Opinion: Cash Flow Credit Scores Revolutionize Lending

It has taken decades for credit reporting to change with the times, but it’s finally here. Analyzing a prospective borrower’s credit risk based... read more »

By: Erica Sandberg • 4/21/25

Credit Scores

Trained on Post-Pandemic Data, VantageScore 5.0 Breaks New Ground in Credit Modeling

1,287 views

3 min read

VantageScore 5.0 Breaks New Ground in Credit Modeling

The newest version of the VantageScore model, Version 5.0, arrived on the market with a bundle of changes designed to make credit risk prediction... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/21/25

Credit Scores

Credit Insecurity on the Rise: What Subprime Lenders Need to Know

3,591 views

5 min read

What Subprime Lenders Need To Know About Credit Insecurity

Millions of Americans are encountering ever-increasing barriers to credit access, despite traditional credit scores improving. That is the... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/18/25

Credit Scores

Average FICO Score Drops to 715 as Student Loan Delinquencies Rise

3,978 views

3 min read

Student Loan Delinquencies Drop Average FICO Score

The average U.S. FICO Score dropped to 715 in February 2025, marking a two-point decline since last April and signaling the first notable dip in... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/17/25

Financial Education

From Loan Challenges to Student Games: How Financial Literacy Is Getting a Boost

2,400 views

3 min read

Financial Literacy Month Sees Its 22nd Year

April is the 22nd anniversary of National Financial Literacy Month, a time to promote both financial education and equality. It began as a modest... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/16/25

Education

Equifax Foundation Sponsors “My Money Mentors” Series to Foster Financial Literacy

3,072 views

3 min read

Equifax Sponsors "My Money Mentors" Television Series

Relatable advice on money is coming to the airwaves, and it’s being presented by trusted voices in the community. Equifax Foundation and WABE,... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/16/25

Lending

FICO World 25 Turns Spotlight on Credit Innovation in Financial Services

2,496 views

3 min read

FICO World 25 Puts Credit Innovation Into The Spotlight

FICO World 25 at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, is the place to be on May 6-9, 2025. More than 50 organizations encompassing... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/15/25

Debt

Credit Card Fed Report Shows Americans Increasingly Slipping Into Minimum Payments

3,192 views

3 min read

Fed Report: Americans Slipping Into Minimum Credit Card Payments

The credit card market is sounding warning bells. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s latest Q4 2024 report shows an increasing proportion... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/14/25

Credit Scores

One Year of OneTru™: TransUnion’s Identity Tech Finds Its Stride in Its First 12 Months

3,990 views

3 min read

One Year of OneTru™: TransUnion's Identity Tech Finds Its Stride

The world of lending never stands still, particularly when it comes to verifying an individual’s identity.  In the modern age, methods used to... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/14/25

Loans

Equifax Improves Its Google Cloud Marketplace Offerings, and Subprime Lenders Have Much to Gain

4,008 views

3 min read

Equifax Improves Its Google Cloud Marketplace Offerings

Equifax has made a significant move toward data democratization in the subprime lending market. By releasing over a dozen anonymized datasets in... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/11/25

Credit Cards

Subprime Credit Market Heats Up as i2c and Access Finance Bring Juzt Card to the U.S. Market

5,760 views

3 min read

Subprime Credit Market Heats Up with Juzt Card Entering the U.S.

Its target market is the subprime credit card space, but it has international ambitions as well. Access Finance, a fintech company that... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/10/25

Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For List Shows Where Subprime Professionals Prefer to Work in 2025

4,942 views

3 min read

Fortune 100 List Includes Subprime Employers That Stand Out

The FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For ranking was recently released for 2025 and marks a high point of interest for professionals seeking... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/10/25

Loans

CFPB Retreats: Two Rule Reversals Portend Future of Subprime Lending

4,872 views

3 min read

Two CFPB Rule Reversals Portend Future of Subprime Lending

With a two-for-one blow to federal regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently reversed a pair of regulations regarding... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/9/25

Debt

Debt Is Preventing Retirement For Older Americans — And It’s Worse Than You Think

3,900 views

3 min read

Survey: Debt Is Preventing Retirement For Older Americans

Debt doesn’t vanish with age. For millions of older Americans, it’s the primary reason why they continue working — or why they’ve lost hope of... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/9/25

Loans

Experian’s Aperture Data Studio Upgrade Helps Subprime Lenders Clean Up Their Data Game

3,744 views

3 min read

Experian Helps Subprime Lenders Clean Up Their Data Game

Subprime lenders have never had it easy. Attempting to make intelligent decisions with dirty, partial, or stale data is much the same as building... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/8/25

Credit Cards

Opinion: Opportunity Knocks for Issuers to Be The Good Guys in Bad Times

6,762 views

3 min read

Opinion: Opportunity Knocks for Issuers to Be The Good Guys

Anxious Americans are making the most of all the financial tools in their toolbox right now, but some methods can be more of a problem than a... read more »

By: Erica Sandberg • 4/7/25

Credit Cards

Navy Federal’s New Secured Card Offers a Safer Path to Credit

3,924 views

1 min read

Navy Federal's New Secured Card Offers a Safer Path to Credit

For consumers who have heard “No” from credit card issuers more times than they can count, the nation’s largest credit union may very well be... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/3/25

Credit Cards

Study Shows Consumers are Increasingly Turning to Credit Products to Pay for Unplanned Purchases

6,840 views

3 min read

Study Shows Consumers Turning to Credit for Unplanned Purchases

According to a recent PYMNTS study, impulse or emergency retail purchases are now a regular part of American consumer budgets. PYMNTS... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/3/25

Loans

From Scoring to Selling: TransUnion Places Big Bet on Prequalification with Monevo Acquisition

5,798 views

3 min read

TransUnion Places Big Bet on Prequalification with Acquisition

TransUnion has completed its acquisition of the UK credit prequalification and distribution platform Monevo.  With personal finance changing at... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/3/25

Credit Cards

Despite Initial Subprime Concerns, DOJ Reportedly Closer to Approving Capital One/Discover Merger

6,768 views

3 min read

DOJ Closer to Approving Capital One/Discover Merger

Capital One’s purchase of Discover may have turned a corner, according to a report that the Department of Justice is reassessing its objections... read more »

By: Adam West • 4/3/25

Auto Lending

What Subprime Lenders Need to Know About Increasing Auto Loan Fraud

8,602 views

3 min read

What Subprime Lenders Need to Know About Auto Loan Fraud

The auto lending market is seeing a troubling increase in exposure to fraud, with subprime borrowers and dealerships leading the way. According... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/2/25

Mortgages

Fast-Track Mortgages? Equifax Thinks It’s Found the Answer with Upfront Employment Verification

7,014 views

3 min read

Fast-Track Mortgages? Equifax Thinks It's Found the Answer

Equifax recently unveiled a new product it’s calling The Work Number® Report Indicator that could revolutionize the mortgage industry: a combined... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/1/25

Lending

TransUnion Study Shows Escalating Data Breaches and Fraud are Hurting Lenders and Households

6,072 views

3 min read

TransUnion Study Shows Escalating Data Breaches and Fraud

This is in an era where online living permeates every facet of existence — from banking and shopping to dating and doctors’ visits — that keeping... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 4/1/25

Credit Scores

Opinion: I’m Slightly Offended That My Credit Report is Lying About Me

7,440 views

3 min read

Opinion: I’m Slightly Offended That My Credit Report is Lying About Me

When it comes to credit card holder archetypes, two sets of consumer groups exist: revolvers and transactors. Both are attractive to lenders, but... read more »

By: Adam West • 3/31/25

Credit Scores

In a Move Toward Open Banking, Experian’s Cashflow Score Ushers in a New Era of Creditworthiness

7,350 views

3 min read

Experian's Cashflow Score Ushers in a New Era of Creditworthiness

Experian has introduced a game-changing tool for consumer lending: the Cashflow Score.  In a move that signals the growing strength of open... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 3/31/25

Credit Scores

With 4 Million Borrowers Falling Behind, Student Loan Delinquencies are Impacting Credit Scores

12,369 views

5 min read

High Student Loan Delinquencies are Impacting Credit Scores

Since payments restarted after a multiyear pause, student loan delinquencies have surged rapidly. And the effects are already impacting borrowers... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 3/27/25

Credit Scores

Affirm’s New Credit Reporting Deal with Experian Could Be a Game-Changer for BNPL Consumers

8,228 views

3 min read

Affirm's New Deal with Experian May Help BNPL Consumers

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has grown in popularity over the past few years, especially with younger shoppers and those who want to avoid... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 3/26/25

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