Experian funds financial capability/credit education initiative with DEI lens

By Audrey Perrott

Experian has made a commitment to Consumer Action for a multi-state financial capability and credit education initiative with a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lens. The goal of the project is to help diverse, underrepresented consumers improve their financial health through education and action.

Lack of credit and/or poor credit are stumbling blocks to building wealth. Consumer Action designs, implements and manages financial capability programs that empower credit invisible and other underrepresented consumers to take action and improve financial health.

According to a 2015 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) study entitled Data Point: Credit Invisibles, 45 million adults are considered credit invisible. Other key findings of the report include: 1) There is a strong correlation between income and having a credit score; and 2) Blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites or Asians to be credit invisible or to have unscored credit records.

Having an education does not eliminate the wealth gap for Black college-educated households. According to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, white college graduates are significantly and substantially more likely to provide and receive financial support for education and/or a home purchase, while Black college graduates are significantly more likely to financially support their parents.

The racial wealth gap is widening at an alarming rate for Blacks and Latinos. Consumer Action has seen and documented improvements in financial health in our past financial capability projects, but there is still much more work to be done.

The goal of the project is to provide diverse underrepresented consumers (CBO staff, clients and other stakeholders) with intensive, culturally appropriate financial education; distribute credit building tools that provide an Experian credit report and/or a FICO® credit score; deliver one-on-one coaching, counseling or group education; assist consumers to develop or review an existing spending plan; measure financial health; and provide credit education to other stakeholders.

Consumer Action is eager to introduce more credit-building tools to the community-based organizations (CBOs) we work with and their diverse underrepresented consumers. We are also pleased to collaborate again with Experian on a credit education initiative.