Equifax Buys DataX To Close Credit Reporting Gap

Equifax announced that it has acquired DataX, a leading specialty finance credit reporting agency and alternative data provider to lenders nationwide.

As part of the deal, DataX and its employees are now part of the Equifax Banking and Lending division.

The deal will enable Equifax to help lenders expand credit access and boost financial inclusion for more consumers — specifically in underbanked populations — through the addition of alternative credit and payment data, analytics and identity solutions on underbanked consumers.

Additional offerings include credit reporting, ID verification, bank account verification and custom risk services.

“Giving consumers fair access to credit has always been a key economic driver for upward mobility, and this acquisition will help more consumers gain access to credit and capital,” said Trey Loughran, president of United States information solutions at Equifax. “The combination of DataX’s data with Equifax’s unique and robust data assets will add more depth to consumer’s profiles and will help lenders expand borrowing options.”

The acquisition of DataX complements other Equifax data assets such as The Work Number, the nation’s largest centralized repository of payroll data, managed by Equifax.

“Only 39 percent of Americans are able to cover a $1,000 emergency expense, which means the majority of people at some point will need some type of financial assistance,” said Jon Geidel, president of DataX. “For more than 14 years, DataX’s mission has been to support our partners to find more reasons to include underbanked consumers. Joining Equifax complements our mission and affords consumers better access to the credit they deserve to meet their financial needs.”

Earlier this month, Equifax announced it had formed a strategic alliance with consents.online, a digital consent management and AISP-accredited open banking platform.

Equifax said that the partnership marks the first time that U.K. consumers and small businesses can manage the sharing of their financial information. The company noted that the alliance was established to develop solutions for the U.K.’s open banking initiative, and added that the partnership enables consumers and small businesses to provide consent to organizations to access financial data.