Experian Establishes Operations In India

Experian®, the global information solutions company, has announced that it has established an operation in Mumbai, India.  This follows the successful adoption by several banks in India of a range of services provided by Experian and forms part of its strategy to expand into emerging markets around the world.

Initially, Experian will provide value-added information services and, using its comprehensive understanding of individuals, markets and economies, it will help organisations to find, develop and manage customer relationships to make their businesses more profitable.  These services will include systems designed to enable Indian organisations to prevent fraud, to maximise revenue and minimise risk by accurate management of their customer information.

As part of its comprehensive portfolio of services, Experian will provide decision analytics solutions to Indian financial services and telecommunications sectors. Decision analytics is the process of managing customer data through techniques such as scoring and segmentation, to enable an organisation to develop appropriate strategies and actions for each customer depending on their individual circumstances. These techniques help organisations to maximise the potential of their customer base at every stage of the relationship and include targeting the right prospective customers and making fast, accurate and consistent decisions about applicants, through to reducing losses by quickly identifying higher risk customers and managing collections activity more effectively.

As one of the world’s leading providers of credit bureau services and solutions, Experian has indicated its intention to apply for a licence to run a credit bureau in India following publication by the RBI of its Rules & Regulations that establish the framework for sharing credit information, and issues a call for licence applications. Credit bureaux help economies and financial services sectors to grow without the risk of large-scale defaults and bad debt losses. Sharing information enables banks and other lenders to make better informed decisions about their customers, increasing the number of customers they are able to take on, while reducing the financial risk and, therefore, increasing their profitability.

Richard Fiddis, Managing Director, Emerging Markets Development for Experian, said: “Experian’s aim is to use our worldwide experience to benefit the local financial community and to be the place where lenders in India look for information, decision analytics and anti-fraud solutions when they have to make a financial decision. We believe our services will ultimately provide great value for many markets including financial services, retail and mail order, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, e-commerce, manufacturing and property. Experian´s presence in India is not only a significant financial investment in the country, but is evidence of our commitment and belief in the future growth and development of the country’s economy and financial services sector.  We shall take this opportunity to invest in the right people locally with the right skills, experience and local knowledge to serve our Indian clients.”

Mr. Stephen Denby, Managing Director, Experian-Scorex EMEAI (Europe, Middle East, Africa and India), commented: “We view India as a strategically important market for our future development and are convinced about the benefits that our solutions can bring to Indian companies. The retail loans market in India has experienced an impressive average annual increase of 40% per year in recent years*, and because the consumer credit market is still at an early stage in its development, it is vital now to create a world-class risk management structure upon which further advances can rely. As a result, for Experian- Scorex, India is one of the key countries where we are committed to having a strong presence to allow us to expand in the future.