Partnering with Academia to Identify Solutions for Underbanked Consumers and Small Businesses

Developing new solutions to reach the 63 million American adults that are either unbanked or underbanked is a key focus of an academic partnership between Equifax and Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. Partnering with Scheller’s Financial Services Innovation Lab inspires new ways of thinking and leverages unique student/professor perspectives to test and learn in new ways. 

Through the partnership, participants will have access to anonymized Equifax data assets. Their mission: Conduct research that can improve the financial lives of underserved consumers and small businesses.  

“We are excited to take the next step to strengthen our partnership with Equifax in conducting research to improve people’s financial lives,” said Professor Sudheer Chava, Alton M. Costley Chair at Scheller College of Business, Georgia Tech.

Some of the planned research includes access to credit cards, understanding the barriers to entrepreneurship and more.  

Financial inclusion is about ensuring everyone has access to basic financial services regardless of their income or socioeconomic status. 

Helping more people gain access to the mainstream financial services they need is core to our business. We believe that positive economic change starts with a single financial opportunity. It’s why we’re constantly innovating every day – to deliver better outcomes for consumers at scale.