Equifax Joins Rivals To Offer SMB Credit Scores On Nav

Credit scoring and data company Equifax has joined its top-two rivals on the Nav platform to offer small business (SMB) credit scores.

In a press release issued Thursday (Nov. 1), Nav and Equifax announced their partnership, which sees Equifax providing business credit scores via the Nav platform, available to small business owners for free. Nav said that makes it the first platform to offer small business credit scores for free from three of the major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Dun & Bradstreet.

“As each credit bureau formulates business credit scores differently, companies [that] are not providing reports from each bureau are not giving business owners the complete picture of how lenders could be viewing and vetting them for financing,” said Nav President Greg Ott in a statement.

In addition to credit scores, businesses can also obtain analysis of their cash flows, linking business owners to a “complete view of the data banks and credit providers are going to judge them by,” Ott added. “This insight into their financial standing empowers them to make better financial decisions and more easily access the capital they need to grow their business.”

In its announcement, Nav pointed to its own research, showing that small business owners with an understanding of their credit scores are 41 percent more likely to be approved for a loan.

The partnership with Equifax will give SMB owners access to the three credit scores beginning next month, Nav noted. To form its credit score for small businesses, Equifax analyzes likelihood of severe delinquency or a charge-off that might occur in the next 12 months. Its collaboration with Nav was announced the same day that Equifax announced a deal that allows customers affected by the Equifax breach to sign up for credit data-monitoring services from its competitor Experian.

“We are now pleased to let you know that Equifax has chosen Experian, one of three nationwide credit bureaus, to provide you with an additional year of free credit monitoring service,” Equifax said. The bureau wrote this in an email sent to customers that had already signed up for the company’s offer of free TrustedID Premier credit monitoring services following the data breach.