Experian has integrated Mastercard’s identity verification and fraud prevention technology into its Experian Ascend Platform, aiming to provide seamless and secure identity verification for its global client base across various industries.The integration is designed to bolster fraud and cybercrime prevention for Experian’s more than 1,800 clients in sectors including financial services, automotive, health, and digital marketing. Identity verification is a critical component in fraud prevention, with 96% of decision-makers recognizing its importance. However, 27% of businesses report that their existing identity verification strategies negatively affect legitimate customer experiences.Mastercard’s Identity Insights enhances Experian’s data capabilities by verifying and connecting identity elements to validate individual authenticity. When combined with Experian’s advanced fraud-detection tools, the integrated solution offers robust protection against synthetic identity and application fraud. This combined approach is intended to improve fraud detection rates while minimizing friction for genuine customers.The solution is accessible through the Experian Ascend Platform in multiple regions, including North America, the UK, and Ireland. It delivers identity assessment by unifying the Experian Ascend Platform – a decision engine leveraging Experian’s comprehensive data, strategy design, decision automation, monitoring, and reporting – with Mastercard’s Identity Insights for validating identity elements such as names, emails, and phone numbers, and analyzing related metadata. This expanded collaboration builds on the established relationship between the two companies, which previously included open banking-powered solutions, with Mastercard’s identity solutions already available via the Ascend Platform.Greg Wright, Executive Vice President of Identity and Fraud at Experian Software Solutions, stated, “When acquiring new customers, our clients want a frictionless process where both identity and fraud, as well as credit risk, can be assessed as part of a single request that streamlines and speeds the customer experience.” He added, “Success is measured by helping our clients grow their business while making fast, efficient decisions. By enabling clients with advanced analytics solutions that bring credit, identity, and fraud data into the Ascend Platform, we help them achieve their strategic goals while also driving greater financial inclusion for consumers.”Dennis Gamiello, Executive Vice President of Identity Solutions at Mastercard, commented on the long-standing collaboration, stating, “For many years, Mastercard and Experian have worked together to empower consumers to take financial control. By integrating Mastercard’s Identity Insights with Experian’s platform insights, we’re partnering to streamline the entire customer journey from digital onboarding to fast-tracking secure transactions and reducing fraud.”Laura Persson, General Manager at OhmConnect Energy, a Texas-based retail electric provider, highlighted the practical application: “We believe signing up for electricity should be easy, so we need a system that addresses identity, fraud, and credit risk without adding friction or hassle for our customers. Experian and Mastercard’s automated service accomplishes this, so we can make it easy for our customers to enroll and start their energy-saving journey.”