Equifax introduces cloud-based Merchant Data Network

Equinox Cloud offers insights into revenue

Equifax Cloud was crafted to help lenders and service providers gain confidence in extending capital amidst a swiftly evolving economic landscape. Equifax research indicates that the Merchant Data Network can better traditional commercial scoring by over 8%. This improvement comes from offering insights into the revenue generated by small businesses through aggregated credit card transactions at the point of sale.

The collaborative network merges the strength of the Equifax Commercial Financial Network with aggregated credit card transaction data from Fiserv and other top data providers. This integration provides increased visibility into over 5.5 million businesses, drawing insights from more than 50 billion credit card transactions annually.

Equinox officials have stated that almost half of the US workforce is employed by small businesses, highlighting the importance of their financial health to the economy. Therefore, making informed lending decisions depends on a solid understanding of actual revenue and cash flow. Through the Merchant Data Network, Equinox collaborates with organisations like Fiserv to give lenders and service providers complete financial insights about a business. 

Benefits of using the Merchant Data Network 

The Merchant Data Network allows lenders to make quicker and more informed decisions by offering up to 60 months of aggregated credit card transaction history. This data provides important sales insights for organisations that might have limited access to traditional credit information. The aggregated credit card transaction data is particularly valuable as it assists in verifying merchant income and determining a business's capacity to pay. This information can be combined with other business data, such as firmographics and credit history, to:

• verify a business and simplify the underwriting process;

• increase scoring for merchants lacking trade or firmographic data;

• detect early signs of business fraud and failure;

• raise the confidence in business sustainability and evaluate commercial risk.

Equifax intends to upgrade the small business revenue insights offered through the Merchant Data Network by incorporating additional contributors in the future.