ATLANTA -

Equifax announced on Thursday that it is powering a new solution designed to help dealerships to verify a potential buyer’s stated income and employment.

The solution is fueled by accessing The Work Number, a database of employer-provided income and employment information from Equifax Workforce Solutions, a business unit of Equifax. It is anticipated that the solution will be available in select dealer service finance platforms this month.

Recent Equifax research revealed approximately 27 percent of applicants overstate their income by more than 15 percent, while approximately 15 percent of applicants overestimate it by 50 percent or more. 

The credit bureau’s research also showed that approximately 20 percent of applicants understate income by 10 percent or more.

“Time is money for dealerships and it is difficult to ensure an efficient buying process when some shoppers do not accurately report their income on the loan application,” said Bill Thompson, senior vice president, automotive vertical leader and general manager at Equifax.

“It’s critical to understand a buyer’s financial capacity early in the sale, and dealers can now instantly verify a customer’s income and employment data,” Thompson continued. “This allows them to confidently offer financing options to their customer, and ultimately provide their lending partners with higher quality financing opportunities.”

In addition to confirming basic income and employment information, dealers can use verifications to view job tenure, which can provides additional insight into repayment risk beyond what a credit score alone reveals.

Equifax research showed that consumers whose job tenure is one year or less are almost twice as likely to go delinquent on a vehicle installment contract than consumers who have a job tenure of 10 or more years.

“Instant income and employment verifications can also help dealers acquire the information they need to offer their customer appropriate financing options,” Thompson said. “With these tools in hand, dealers can build strong customer relationships and more profitable partnerships with their lenders.”

For more information about instant income and employment verifications, visit www.equifax.com/business/automotive or contact your Equifax sales representative.