Mifundo taps into Experian to solve Europe’s cross-border lending challenge
Experian Data and Mifundo Innovation to Enhance Cross-Border Credit Assessments Across the EU
The data and technology company Experian has entered a new partnership with the fintech company Mifundo.
This new partnership will allow expats and foreigners moving between countries in the European Union to receive better credit assessments, benefiting both the individual borrower and the lender.
Experian, a global data and technology company, is now partnering with Mifundo, an innovative fintech company aiming to create better credit assessments across the EU’s borders.
Mifundo is pioneering the Verified & Passportable Financial Identity, a technology that allows individuals' credit data to be securely and seamlessly transferred across borders. Mifundo creates a whole new market category, being the single source for cross-border credit data in Europe. This is a service that is offered exclusively by Mifundo, providing unmatched opportunities for financial mobility across borders.
Credit assessments are a crucial but complex process in a lender’s decision when evaluating potential customers for a loan. This process becomes even more challenging for individuals relocating between countries and foreign lenders, since there is generally no financial credit history or data on the individual.
Mifundo’s data technology transcends national boundaries, enabling banks in other EU countries to access credit information on foreign customers.
Mifundo's solution stands as the only option for banks looking to expand their lending business opportunities and enhance their business potential by securely and cost-efficiently assessing the creditworthiness of foreign nationals or their own clients living abroad, and serving them effectively. Mifundo's seamless API integration enables rapid deployment and delivers faster time-to-revenue than traditional in-house solutions, lowering operational costs and eliminating inefficiencies like manual document collection and translation.
For example, Romanian nationals, around 43,000 of whom have migrated to Denmark, can now easily transfer their credit history back to Romania. This opens the door to financial services like mortgages and vehicle leases that might have been otherwise inaccessible. With Mifundo’s verified, portable data, an Eastern European bank that recently adopted Mifundo’s solutions can confidently offer more services and grow its business.
Covering nearly 70% of Europe, Mifundo continues expanding its cross-border financial network.
“Banks and other lending institutions in the EU use Experian as a source of credit information. We fully support the benefits that Mifundo brings to society. We are delighted to collaborate with Mifundo, allowing EU citizens and expats in the EU the freedom to move to another country without losing their credit history. Meanwhile, lenders also gain higher accuracy and security in their loan portfolios,” says Bo Rasmussen, Experian Northern Europe's Chief Commercial Officer.
“It’s essential for Experian to provide good, trustworthy, and solid data insights to our customers. We work hard for financial inclusion, and the collaboration with Mifundo is a solid anchor in that effort,” he continues.
Over 150,000 Move Each Year
According to figures from Danmarks Statistik, nearly 80,000 expats came to Denmark in 2023, while almost 20,000 Danes returned home from abroad. The number of emigrants is approximately 50,000 for foreigners and 17,500 for Danes. This is only for Denmark, so the potential impact of this partnership across the EU is extensive.
“Mobility has increased significantly, especially over the past ten years, highlighting the need for better cross-border credit assessments,” emphasises Bo Rasmussen.
Experience from Mifundo shows that banks can reduce credit risk by up to 7 times and increase business volume by 15%.
Mifundo’s CEO, Kaido Saar, comments on the new partnership:
“Our goal is to create financial mobility throughout Europe, and the partnership with Experian is a key part of achieving that. With Mifundo’s advanced technology solution, people across the EU will no longer be strangers to banks across borders – their creditworthiness will follow them, no matter where they choose to live in Europe. The same applies to EU citizens and expats who have lived in Denmark and return to their home country.”
Mifundo's background
Founded in 2018 by former Bigbank Group CEO Kaido Saar, Mifundo is building the first AI-based cross-border data platform to enable the portability of credit profiles throughout Europe. The company aims to create a genuinely unified credit market in the EU, reducing financial inequality and providing better access to financial services for all European citizens. The company has received prestigious awards in the sector, including the Europe Fintech Award 2023 - LendTech of the Year and Banking Technology Award 2023 - Fintech Startup of the Year. In the spring of 2023, Mastercard Lighthouse recognised Mifundo as one of the high-potential fintech companies in Northern Europe.
Mifundo is the first fintech company in Europe which has been funded through the strategic innovation investment arm of the European Commission. In July 2024 European Innvoation Council (EIC) decided to invest 411 million euros in 68 deep-tech companies, including 10M eur to Mifundo, that develop technology of strategic importance to Europe and have disruptive potential on a global scale.
Mifundo is fully FSA-licensed and aligned with the EU’s Digital Finance Strategy, providing banks with a compliant solution for serving cross-border customers without risking legal exposure.
About Experian
Experian is a global data and technology company that creates opportunities for people and businesses worldwide. They help redefine lending practices, detect and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and provide deeper insights into the automotive market – all through their unique combination of data, analytics, and software.
They also assist millions of people in achieving their financial goals while helping them save time and money.
They operate across a wide range of industries, from financial services to healthcare, the automotive sector, agricultural financing, insurance, and many others. They invest in talented people and cutting-edge technologies to harness the power of data.
As a FTSE 100-listed company on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), they have a team of 22,500 colleagues across 32 countries. Their headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at experianplc.com.