Reseda Summit 2025: Experian SVP Talks Alternative Data and Open Banking
- John San Filippo
- Oct 6
- 4 min read
By John San Filippo
The Reseda Summit, an annual conference hosted by Reseda Group, was held in Detroit Sept. 17-18. Finopotamus, an official media partner, was also onsite to cover the event. The keynote address was delivered by Ashley Knight, senior vice president of product management at Experian, who spoke about ways credit unions can leverage alternative data.
Knight outlined four key themes for the “future of underwriting,” based on a global survey of over 700 industry experts. The first theme: move to digital. Knight stated, “The future is digital,” adding that consumers will “expect a hyper-personalized experience as they engage with their lender, their bank, and more.” Other key themes included the rise of Agentic AI, the increasing prevalence of partnerships, and the central role of data.
The Evolving Role of Data
According to Knight, data is the foundation of modern lending. “Data is going to change dramatically,” she said. “Credit data is not going to go away, but there is going to be new data that is introduced into the ecosystem to help better understand consumers and help you make more informed decisions on how you talk to consumers.”
Knight detailed four dimensions that make data valuable:
Coverage: This refers to how many consumers can be identified within the credit ecosystem.
Quality: Knight argued that quality is critical. “Quality is extremely important because … to understand truly how to offer the right product and service, but it also has regulatory implications, especially in the credit ecosystem.”
Freshness: Stale data can create blind spots. Knight noted Experian’s commitment to freshness, processing contributed files within 24 hours of receipt. She added, “I would also argue that the future is going to be real-time reporting.”
Performance: The data must be predictive and provide a positive return on investment. Knight asked, “Can you approve more consumers because you have better data and it’s performative?”
A Layered Approach to Underwriting
While traditional credit data remains essential, Knight explained that alternative data provides a much fuller financial picture. “Alternative data really opens up the aperture so you can see more about a consumer’s financial health,” she stated. This includes information like rental data, short-term loans, and property data.
Her recommended strategy is a layered approach. Knight further explained, “Baseline is traditional credit.” The next step is “adding on alternative data to better understand a consumer’s other debt or obligations that are not visible on the credit report.” The final layer is open banking data.
She highlighted several types of alternative data:
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): This data can reveal spending and repayment patterns not otherwise visible. With over 91 million consumers using BNPL, its absence creates significant blind spots.
Rental and Property Data: Information about how a consumer pays rent or patterns of buying and selling property can be correlated with risk or marketing opportunities.
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs): Used in place of a Social Security number, ITINs can help identify and score more consumers, particularly those new to the country. Knight noted that Experian has collected ITINs on 2 million consumers, which has increased match rates by 6.5%.
The Future is Open Banking
Knight placed a strong emphasis on the growing importance of open banking, also known as consumer-permissioned data. “Open banking is the future,” she said. A recent survey of financial institutions showed that 93% of respondents are either using open banking data today or will be by 2030.
Among other use cases, open banking allows a lender, with the consumer’s consent, to access their bank account information. This cash-flow data provides insights into income, employment, debt, and wealth that are not available on a standard credit report. Knight noted its power, stating, “Cash flow is complementary to credit, so it’s not a replacement and it augments credit overall.”
This additional data is most predictive for consumers with no credit or a thin file. Knight noted, “We’ve actually seen that some of those [lenders] that have used cash flow have been able to approve up to 30% more applicants by adding cash flow data without changing their risk tolerance.”
Implementing New Data Sources
Knight also acknowledged that adopting new data is not a simple process. She recommended a phased approach, suggesting lenders start by using “silent scoring” to run cash-flow scores in the background to compare results. Another common strategy is to use it for “second chance approvals,” where a consumer who was initially declined is given an opportunity to be approved by providing access to their bank account information.
The user experience is critical when asking for permissioned data. Knight stressed the importance of transparency. “What we learned is consumers were more likely to consent if they were asked upfront in the process and they were given as much information as possible as to why, even if it meant more screens, more clicks, or more boxes to check; they were more willing if there was that type of information as transparency upfront.”
In closing, Knight reiterated her central message: “Credit data is going to be foundational – it’s not going away – but as we look towards the future, alternative data is going to become more pronounced.”
