Experian and illion are not the same entity, but they have merged. As of October 1, 2024, Experian completed the acquisition of illion in Australia and New Zealand for A$820 million. While previously competitors, the two are now becoming a single, unified business entity combining their data and credit reporting systems.
What's the difference between illion and Experian? Both illion and Experian are credit bureaus that generate credit scores and reports. However, they gather their credit data from different sources, meaning there could be differences in your credit reports.
Experian has completed its $820 million acquisition of Illion, creating a duopoly in the market that supplies banks with the credit data they use to evaluate borrowers.
The company has its origins in Credit Data Corporation, a business which was acquired by TRW Inc. in 1968, and subsequently renamed TRW Information Services. In November 1996, TRW sold the unit, as Experian, to Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners.
This can result in variations depending on the information each agency has received from lenders. While your Equifax credit score may be high, your illion score could be lower and vice versa. illion's credit score ranges from 0 to 1000, with a score of 500 to 699 considered good.
There are three credit reporting bodies who provide credit scores to credit providers in Australia - Experian, Equifax and Illion. Each credit reporting body has their own way of calculating their score, so your credit score is not the same across the three credit reporting bodies.
Yes, you can likely get a $50,000 loan with a 700 credit score, as this falls into the "good" credit range (670-739) that unlocks better rates, but approval also hinges on your income, debt-to-income (DTI) ratio (ideally below 36%), and overall credit history, with lenders looking for stability and repayment ability, so prequalifying with multiple lenders helps compare terms.
Experian is one of the three major credit bureaus that creates credit reports, while Credit Karma is a platform that shows you your free scores and reports from two of the other major bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. You have many credit scores based on different scoring models, so it's normal for them to be different.
Yes, banks use Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, often pulling data from one or all three to assess creditworthiness for different products like credit cards or loans, with lenders frequently using the middle score (median) from all three for major decisions like mortgages. Which specific bureau a bank uses can depend on the bank, the type of credit, and even your location, so it's important to monitor all three bureaus.
It's partly true: most negative items like late payments and collections are removed from your credit report after about seven years, but the underlying debt often still exists, and bankruptcies (Chapter 7) last 10 years, so your credit isn't entirely "clear" but mostly refreshed from old negatives. The 7-year clock starts from the date of the original delinquency, not when you paid it off or sent to collections, and the debt itself can still be pursued by collectors.
On January 7, 2025, the Bureau filed a lawsuit against Experian Information Solutions, Inc., one of the largest consumer reporting agencies in the country.
The merger of two major credit reporting services has completed, after the ACCC green-lit the move in August.
Experian does keep certain types of personal and financial information from your connected accounts. For instance, the records of your on-time payments, which could improve your credit score if you use Experian Boost. As is always the case, there's a risk that information could be compromised in a data breach.
When did the Experian Data Breach happen? The breach was discovered and publicly disclosed in August 2020, though cybercriminals may have gained access to the data earlier in the year.
Is Experian or FICO more reliable? Your VantageScore and your FICO Score are two different credit scores that use two different credit models. Both are considered to be reliable.