ATLANTA and MINNEAPOLIS – Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) and myFICO.com, a division of Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FIC), announced their launch of Score Watch, the most powerful service available for monitoring consumers’ credit health. With Score Watch, consumers can track their FICO® credit score and see how their score impacts the interest rates likely to be offered by mortgage, auto and home equity lenders.
Available to consumers from both www.myfico.com and www.equifax.com, Score Watch helps consumers to proactively manage their FICO score — the score most lenders use — and identify the right time to make a major purchase.
Score Watch continuously monitors subscribers’ Equifax credit file for changes that can affect their FICO scores. Once a change is detected, Score Watch alerts subscribers via email or wireless text message, advising them to visit a secured web site for a detailed explanation of the change in credit status. If the subscriber’s credit score changes by a significant amount due to changes in their credit file, the Score Watch alert will also include their up-to-date score.
Score Watch subscribers also can preset a target score and be notified when they reach it, a valuable service for consumers who are aiming to qualify for a mortgage, home equity, or auto loan at a lower interest rate. Score Watch is available immediately, and costs $7.95 per month or $79.95 for 12 months.
“Score Watch is the only monitoring service that helps consumers check and manage their FICO credit score, the score most lenders use,” said Cheri St. John, vice president of scoring and consumer solutions for Fair Isaac. “It provides consumers with an effective and affordable tool for keeping a close eye on the most important measure of their credit health.”
“Equifax is committed to delivering the resources and knowledge consumers need to manage their credit health and reach their financial goals,” said Paul Springman, chief marketing officer, Equifax. “With Score Watch, consumers gain access to an important tool that makes preparing for a major purchase much easier — a critical component in the planning process.”
With Score Watch, consumers can take advantage of a range of features, including:
- Information updated daily about current average interest rates for various types of loans and the specific credit score ranges that are currently receiving those rates.
- Secured website where members can track how their score has changed during their subscription, get credit scoring tips, and get explanations of the factors impacting their current FICO score.
- Email and wireless alerts when there is a change to a subscriber’s score that is likely to affect an interest rate.
- Ability for subscribers to set the target FICO score they are seeking to achieve and be notified when they reach it.
- Two Score Power® reports that include an overview of the consumer’s FICO credit score and a copy of their Equifax Credit Report™.
Score Watch is the second consumer product jointly developed by Fair Isaac and Equifax, integrating Fair Isaac’s FICO scoring technology with Equifax’s credit file monitoring expertise. Through this relationship, Equifax and Fair Isaac provide tools and resources designed to enlighten consumers about the value of credit scores and how their behavior can affect their credit score over time. In 2001, Equifax and Fair Isaac introduced Score Power, an online credit score service that delivers Fair Isaac’s FICO credit score and the Equifax Credit Report.
About Equifax
Equifax Inc. (www.equifax.com) is a global leader in turning information into intelligence. For businesses, Equifax provides faster and easier ways to find, approve and market to the appropriate customers. For consumers, Equifax offers easier, instantaneous ways to buy products or services and better insight into and management of their personal credit. Equifax. Information that Empowers.
Equifax Statement Concerning Forward-looking Information – Statements in this press release that relate to Equifax’s future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, changes in worldwide and U.S. economic conditions that materially impact consumer spending and consumer debt, changes in demand for Equifax’s products and services, risks associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, changes in laws governing our business, including particularly the cost of compliance with the FACT Act and related regulations, the ability of Equifax to achieve its productivity improvement and cost reduction targets, pricing and other competitive pressures, and certain other factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of Equifax’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Equifax assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
About myFICO and Fair Isaac
The FICO credit score is used to make billions of credit decisions each year, including more than 75 percent of mortgage loan originations. In addition, more than 40 of the nation’s 50 largest financial institutions rely on the FICO score to help them determine an individual’s credit risk. Through the http://www.myFICO.com Web site, consumers use the company’s FICO scores, the standard measure of credit risk, to manage their financial health. The myFICO Web site offers informative, actionable credit information services that help people manage and protect their overall financial health. Through http://www.myFICO.com and its associates, over three million FICO score-based information products have been purchased to date.
Fair Isaac Corporation is the preeminent provider of creative analytics that unlock value for people, businesses and industries. The company’s predictive modeling, decision analysis, intelligence management, decision management systems and consulting services power billions of mission- critical customer decisions a year. Founded in 1956, Fair Isaac helps thousands of companies in over 60 countries acquire customers more efficiently, increase customer value, reduce fraud and credit losses, lower operating expenses and enter new markets more profitably. Most leading banks and credit card issuers rely on Fair Isaac solutions, as do insurers, retailers, telecommunications providers, healthcare organizations, and government agencies. Through the http://www.myfico.com Web site, consumers use the company’s FICO® scores, the standard measure of credit risk, to manage their financial health.
Fair Isaac Statement Concerning Forward-looking Information – Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this press release that relate to Fair Isaac, including statements regarding its new Score Watch product offering and the relationship described herein, and the benefits to be derived from this offering, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including any unforeseen technical difficulties related to the implementation, use and functionality of the offering, the risks that customers will not perceive material benefits from the offering, failure of the product to deliver the expected results, the possibility of errors or defects in the offering, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, and other risks described from time to time in Fair Isaac’s SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2004. Forward-looking statements should be considered with caution. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, Fair Isaac’s results could differ materially from Fair Isaac’s expectations in these statements. Fair Isaac disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
