TransUnion Business Insights - Enhanced Consumer Insights: Introducing the Vulnerability Registration Service, Evolving Data Strategies and Credit Week

Enhanced Consumer Insights: Introducing the Vulnerability Registration Service, Evolving Data Strategies and Credit Week

05/24/24 • 28 min

Ever wondered what type of consumer data points could have a transformative impact on transactions between consumers and businesses?

In this episode Gareth Howell, Head of Data Solutions at TransUnion in the UK, talks with Helen Lord, CEO of the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) about the power of new types of consumer insights, the evolution of the data ecosystem and the regulatory drive to improve customer outcomes.

A non-profit organisation, VRS was established in 2016 and allows individuals with different vulnerability types (both financial and non-financial) to self-register issues such as financial vulnerability (for example an ‘unpaid carer’ flag), physical disabilities or addictions (including drugs and gambling), and appends that information to files with actions, such as requesting lenders decline them for credit, or informing a provider that they need more support for access to products or services (circumstances in this scenario could include impaired sight or hearing).

Gareth and Helen discuss why understanding behaviours and vulnerabilities that are typically ‘unseen’ when making credit decisions has the potential to create better outcomes for consumers and businesses, and walk through how this can be turned into reality.

We close with Gareth signposting his keynote at Credit Week (June 17-19, 2024). Credit Week is a key event for industry leaders to come together and discuss their latest challenges and emerging topics, shape opinion, and share and learn from best practice examples. The agenda’s focus on consumer vulnerability aligns with innovative work TransUnion are doing with data, product development and consultancy work, and more broadly our commitment to using data and insights to drive financial inclusion and consumer empowerment.

Further reading:
[* A Compelling Human and Economic Case for Transforming How We Understand Consumer Vulnerability

* Open Banking: Unlock the Potential of Your 2024 Customer Strategy

Ever wondered what type of consumer data points could have a transformative impact on transactions between consumers and businesses?

Further reading:
[* A Compelling Human and Economic Case for Transforming How We Understand Consumer Vulnerability

* Open Banking: Unlock the Potential of Your 2024 Customer Strategy

Previous Episode

Cyber Incident Response Landscape: Looking Back at 2023, Planning for 2024 and Exploring the Psychological Impact of Ransomware

In this episode, Mark Read, Head of Data Breach Solutions at TransUnion UK, talks to George Chaisty, a Partner at the international law firm Kennedys Law LLP, and Cameron Carr, Managing Partner for Mullen Coughlin, to get a better understanding of the current cyber threat landscape.

Off the back of a busy 2023 and with Mark attending February’s IAPP Data Protection Intensive 2024 event in London, the first part of this podcast reflects on the dominant and emerging methods being used by threat actors. Cameron, Mark and George use this scene setting as an entry point into the recent Royal United Services Institute, (RUSI) paper which explores the harms caused by ransomware to individuals, organisations and society.

RUSI is the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank, and this document is an important industry talking point. Our experts discuss the psychological impact ransomware can have on individuals directly (first-order harms) and indirectly (secondary-order harms) and address key issues that businesses need to consider when mitigating a cyber incident that includes breach fatigue, impact on front line staff and customer care.

We wrap up with insights into what industry professionals can expect to see from threat actors in the coming year and identify the resources that will need to be carefully marshalled in response to these threats.

For more information on how your organisation can look to counter the threat of a data breach, download our dedicated ebook or get in touch with Mark directly.

Next Episode

Understanding and Countering Financial Crime feat. Tony Sales (We Fight Fraud)

Our Omnichannel Fraud Report 2024 combines insights from TransUnion’s global device database (that uses intelligence from billions of transactions originating from over 40,000 websites and apps to protect digital transactions) with consumer research.

With contributions from fraud and identity experts, the report offers readers a unique and insightful perspective into the volumes of risky transactions occurring within different industries and the activities employed by fraudsters both in the UK and globally. Alongside this are observations and commentary on approaches and solutions that can counter these threats.

To pick over some of the key trends and themes identified, host Harriet Sloan (Head of Fraud Analytics at TransUnion UK) sits down with Tony Sales (Co-Founder and Head of Innovation at We Fight Fraud) and** Nick Dumonde (Head of Market Strategy – Insurance at TransUnion UK).**

Tony - formerly ‘Britain's greatest fraudster’ - is a leading authority on social engineering, fraud and cybercrime and offers a unique perspective into the world of fraud and scam prevention. He has seen how criminals have moved from targeting businesses to consumers and the influence economic conditions have had on vulnerable consumers. Topics covered include the black market for ghost broking and insurance fraud, the danger money muling poses to the financially vulnerable, the importance of effectively educating consumers to spot scams and the threats posed and solutions offered by emerging technology including artificial intelligence.

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